Focul Din Interior
by BookwormKAH
Summary: Hermione finally decides what she wants to do for a living. She had always loved dragons. And the fact that she was working with Charlie was a plus too. Takes place after the war. Obviously an AU from after the war is over. Charmione. Rated T for now, might be changed to M later.
1. Pilot Light

A/N: So, I love Harry Potter, and I ship so many ships its insane, so yes, my ships will vary. Anyway, enjoy the read. Review! JKR owns HP, and related characters. I have one other story, a Drinny one if anyone is interested.

She had always had a fascination with Dragons. Even before she had found out that she was a witch. She had books about dragons, she had stuffed animals, she drew pictures. She even swore that she had seen one when she was younger, and as she had grown up she realized that she probably had seen a real dragon. But as she had gotten older, her parents told her that they weren't real. When she turned ten she had thrown out or donated everything dragon that she had owned, she had decided that she needed to grow up.

Well, mostly grow up. She kept the posters that had once adorned her room. They had been presents from family members, and she had done a couple paint by numbers that had also been on her wall. She had packed them up, but she had hidden them away in her closet, she hadn't been able to throw them out, not ready to let go. As the years had gone by, she had collected moving pictures of dragons, and they took up the closet with her older posters. Her parents thought that she was being childish with her dragons, she disagreed with them but tried to appease them as much as she could.

Everything had changed when she found out that she was a witch. She bought as many books as she could when she went to Diagon Alley for the first time. Half of them were about magical creatures, and she had been ecstatic when she found out that dragons where real. She blew through all the books that she owned before the term started.

It all changed once again when Hagrid hatched a dragon her first year at Hogwarts. Norbert, though later they found out that he was a she and had been renamed Norberta, had been a Norwegian Ridgeback. That was the first time she had seen a dragon, and she had been fascinated. The little dragon was black but when she moved Hermione swore she could see silver shining through, and she had loved the feel of her scales when she pet it. She could feel the magic from the dragon in her fingertips, it had made her fall even more in love with dragons. She had helped Hagrid as much as she could with taking care of the dragon, she had read all about them after all. She helped Hagrid feed her right, and try to exercise her without exposing her to the entire school.

Even with all the effort she put into taking care of the dragon, they were found out and they had to get her to safety. She had helped Harry smuggle the dragon to the astronomy tower and hand it over to Charlie Weasley's friends to be taken to the Romanian Sanctuary. It had landed her in detention for the first time, but she had loved the thrill of saving a dragon. It was at that moment that she started thinking about a career in dragonology.

All thoughts of that had gone out the window and she had set herself on a career at the ministry. She focused on S.P.E.W. for a few years until the Triwizard Tournament. She found out that the first task was Dragons, and she once again felt the draw to study them and spent hours and hours in the library reading about them after Ron had taken her to introduce her to Charlie. She loved seeing the dragons in action, though she had been terrified for Harry when the Hungarian Horntail had gone after him. She had been relieved when Harry had passed the first task with just a scratch. He was lucky that's all he had escaped with. She knew from all her reading that the Horntail was one f the most dangerous dragons that were kept in various sanctuaries around the globe. They were known to be vicious when it came to keeping their eggs safe, and Hermione had seen that in the moments she watched Harry trying to get his golden egg for the task.

Again, all thoughts had gone out the window when they had discovered Voldemort had returned, then she had to go find horcruxes with Harry. That task had consumed everything she had, she had no room to be thinking or studying dragons. She had her heart broken when they had found the Dragon in the dungeons of Gringotts, and she was so proud that they had been able to save him. She could hardly feel the magic coming off of this dragon, it was nothing like the first time she had touched a dragon, she felt that he had been kept away too long, that being away from his own kind had somehow drained him. After the Second Wizard War, she had taken some time off from school and work. She had gone travelling to places like Paris, Barcelona, places she had always dreamed of going.

During the end of her travels, she got a wild hair and decided to travel around to different dragon reserves. She went to the Ottowa Reserve, the Austrian Reserve, the Beijing Reserve, and her last stop was the Romanian Sanctuary. Before she had taken this on, she stopped by the ministry and got the proper paperwork and credentials to begin her training to become a dragonologist.

She was finally on her last legs, her last sanctuary to train at, Romania. She was a bit nervous, but knowing that someone the knew would be there calmed her a bit. Hermione walked up to the entrance gate, and showed her wand as identification to the guards. At first, they denied her entry, she was frustrated. She had no problem getting into the other Reserves she had visited. She talked for a while to the security guard before using her last resort.

"I'm Hermione Granger, I have been traveling all around Reserves for the last six months, and if you go get Charlie Weasley, I'm sure he will vouch for me." She said, exasperated.

"Charlie, you know Charlie?" He asked in his thick Romanian accent, and she nodded, letting out a sigh. He shrugged and spoke to the man next to him, the other man stood up and walked away quickly. The security guard stared at her for a few moments in silence before Hermione noticed two people walking toward the gate.

"Oh thank god." Hermione said softly, and the guard that had been staring at her turned and saw the two men. They sat in silence until Charlie and the other man arrived at the gate.

"Hermione? What are you doing here?" Charlie Weasley asked, pausing on the other side of the gate.

"I've been going around to loads of reserves to study dragons." Hermione said simply, and Charlie stared at her.

"Why?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, I decided to become a licensed Dragonologist." She said nonchalantly to the large Weasley across the gate from her. He then raised both eyebrows in surprise.

"And, how's that going?" He asked, tilting his head, and she took her paperwork from the guard and handed it over the gate to Charlie. She had already undergone most of her training, each reserve had a specialty to train for, the Romanian one specialized in taking care of pregnant dragons and conservation. He read over the paperwork then turned to the guard at the gate.

"Did she show you these?" He asked the guard, and he nodded gruffly. "And why didn't you let her in?" He asked.

"Sir, she didn't have a badge." He said, and Hermione smacked her forehead.

"Well why didn't you say so? Here it is." She pulled it out and her official studies badge. She had gotten it through the ministry when she decided she was going to start to become a dragon expert.

"Mate, you need to start asking for these, not everyone remembers that you need to see this. Some reserves don't require it." Charlie said to the guard, shaking his head. The guard muttered something before opening the gate.

"Go ahead miss." He said, and Hermione took back her badge and papers from Charlie.

"Thank you, I'm sorry about that." She said the last part to the guard and gave him a small smile. He waved his hand a little and she stepped through the gate onto the ground of the reserve. Charlie gave a wave to the guard and walked deeper into the reserve with Hermione.

"So, you need to take these to the Head Dragon Keeper." Charlie said. "You want me to show you where to go? Its about lunch, so he is probably inside the cantina."

"Yeah, that would be great." Hermione said, giving him a smile.

"So, you've been at this for six months? How many more reserves do you need to get your certificate?" He asked her.

"This is actually my last one." Hermione said, smiling.

"That's amazing. I thought something seemed different about you, you've built up some muscle." Charlie said, and Hermione laughed.

"Yeah, a bit. I could take on almost your entire family." She said, playfully punching him in the arm. He grinned and nodded.

"So when was the last time you saw everyone? Are you still with Ron? How is Harry doing since everything ended?" Charlie peppered her with questions.

"Well, I stopped by about four months ago I think. And Ron actually met someone, a with from America I think. Harry, he's good. Him and Ginny are getting along wonderfully I think they are moving in together soon." She answered all of his questions in order as they walked.

"And… How has everyone been since.. you know." He said, and Hermione knew that he was referring to the funeral.

"Well, I only saw them the one time since then. I get letters from Ginny a lot, and I think everyone is doing alright." She said carefully. She saw Charlie nod a bit. "Have you seen them at all?" She asked.

"Um… no. I haven't been able to face them." He said. She knew that he still felt guilty that he hadn't been able to fight with them at Hogwarts. He had been protecting the reserve though when Death Eaters had tried to get to the dragons.

"Charlie, it's not your fault. You had to protect them." She said, as she heard a dragon roar in the distance. She saw him look toward the sound and he smiled a bit.

"Yeah, I guess so." He said. They finally approached what she figured was the cantina. "Well here we are." He said, opening the door for her. He then led her to a large man who was eating some soup alone.

"Hey Eric, this here is Hermione, she's been working on her license." He said, and he gestured for Hermione to hand over her paperwork. He silently looked over the stack of papers then looked at Hermione.

"You sure you up for this lassie?" He asked her, and Hermione nodded. "Not sure you 'ave the build for this work." He said, eyeing her up and down. She stood up straight.

"I can handle it. I have for six months." She said. He nodded and looked back down at the papers for a moment.

"Right, well welcome to Romania." He said, grinning and giving her the paperwork back.

"Thank you sir." She said, taking them back and turning to Charlie, grinning widely.

"You show 'er to 'er cabin." The Dragon Keeper said to Charlie, who nodded.

"Yes sir." Charlie said, and Hermione followed behind him to the street full of cabins. He led her down the row, then he stopped and pointed at two across form eachother.

"One on the right is yours, I live in the one on the left, so if you need anything, feel free to come one over." He said, giving her a smile and she nodded.

"Yes sir." She said, and he laughed.

"I'll meet you here at eight in the morning, got it?" He said, she could tell he was forcing himself to act stern, so she put on her toughest face and nodded.

"Okay, well go get settled then." Charlie said, resting a hand on her back. "And Hermione?" He said, and she turned to look at him.

"Yeah?" Hermione asked, looking up at him.

"Welcome to Romania." He said, pulling her into a hug.

"Thanks Charlie." She said, and she turned at the same time he did to go into her cabin. "Oh, hey Charlie?" She called once she reached her door, she turned and saw him turn on his front steps.

"Yeah Hermione?" He called back.

"Who's gonna train me? Do you know?" She asked him, and he grinned.

"I thought that was obvious Granger." He said. "Me." He said, turning and entering his cabin. She froze, one hand on the door handle. No, it hadn't been obvious. She thought about the muscled Weasley for just a moment before shaking her head and opening the door into her cabin.

A/N: Let me know what you think, I love Charmione, so this is really exciting for me to write. Much Loves- Bookworm


	2. Warmth

A/N: Thank you for following/favoriting my story! I got so excited to see that my story had its first followers! I hope that you like this new chapter, if you have any ideas at all, please feel free to leave a review or PM me. JKR owns HP. Enjoy!

* * *

 **Warmth**

She had spent the rest of the day settling into her cabin and wandering around Dragonsmeade. The settling part hadn't taken too long, she had learned that since she was moving around so much that she shouldn't keep too many belongings with her.

Dragosmeade was something else though, they had shops for books, for potioneering, medical supplies, really they had everything. There was even a small souvenir shop, which Hermione immediately knew most of her Christmas presents for this year would be coming from. She spent close to an hour in the bookstore, almost every single book was about dragons. She even saw a couple muggle books that focused on the mythology of dragons, ones that she most likely owned as a child. Smiling at the thought, she grabbed a couple books off the shelf that she had never read, she would get around to them whenever she had some down time.

Hermione then went to her cabin and read one that focused on the curing of scale rot until she heard bells. She glanced at her watch, it was about dinner time. She figured that she should probably get some food, and she set down her book on her bedside table.

As soon as she stepped outside, her eyes went across the small road and saw that Charlie was also exiting his cabin. She waved and they met in the middle.

"So you already know that the bell means dinner?" He asked, and she shrugged.

"Not really, I was just hungry when it went off." She said with a slight grin, he chuckled slightly and shook his head.

"With a tone like that, you'll fit in no problem." He said, and the compliment made her blush a bit.

"Well I should hope so, I have only spent the last six months with the likes of you." She said, and he glanced at her.

"Oh, I don't think you have spent any amount of time with 'the likes of me'." He said cheekily, making her laugh a bit. "So, are you all settled in?" He asked her, and she gave him a nod.

"I went to Dragonsmeade too." She said, looking at him as they walked side by side. Her comment made him raise his eyebrows.

"You had that sort of time?" He asked.

"Well I didn't have much to settle." She said plainly.

"Hm, I guess I had you pegged wrong." He said with a shrug, and she stopped walking.

"And what did you have me pegged as Charlie?" She asked, tilting her head slightly. He looked at her for a moment before turning to walk again.

"Sentimental." Charlie stated, and she walked quickly to catch up with him.

"What would make you think that?" She asked out of curiosity.

"Hermione, I used to visit home all the time, I know you would share a room with Ginny, I could tell what was hers and what you had kept there." He said, and she nodded slightly.

"Well… I suppose I might have been a little, but after the war… I guess I changed." She said, and the finally arrived at the cantina.

They joined the queue of other dragon keepers waiting for dinner. Charlie kept introducing her to people, but she had a difficult time remembering anyone's names. Charlie eventually glanced at her after a short conversation with a wizard who had the thickest accent Hermione had ever heard, and he chuckled at the look on her face.

"Don't worry, just a couple weeks and you will know everyone's name." He said to her, and she gave him a sheepish smile. He then turned to the witch serving dinner and gave her a smile. "Hey darlin' can I get the Shepherd's Pie?" He asked her, and she handed him a plate.

"And for you sweetheart?" She asked, and Hermione realized that the witch was from America.

"Oh, um can I get the same thing?" She asked, and the witch gave her a wide smile and handed her a plate as well. "Thank you." Hermione said, and the woman gave her a wink.

"'Course." She said as they walked away. "Enjoy!" She called after them, and Charlie let out a laugh.

"What?" Hermione asked, and he gave her and incredulous look.

"You really don't know?" He said, and she shook her head as they sat down at an empty table. He laughed even harder before answering. "She fancies you." He said, and Hermione went pink.

"I doubt that." She mumbled, turning to her food and taking a small bite. Thankfully at that moment a few other wizards sat down with them, ending the conversation.

"You call that a bite lass?" One said, she thought his name was William.

"Oh please, I bet I could down this faster than any of you." She joked, and they all laughed in unison.

"I bet Ten Galleons that you won't" He said, and everyone around the table agreed, they all pulled out the coins and placed them on the table. She shook her head with a smile and placed ten on the table as well.

"Okay, we're going to do this." Charlie said, cracking his knuckles. She smiled and picked up her fork.

"One." Said William, looking around at the people on the table, and everyone else picked up their forks.

"Two." Said Charlie, and everyone scooped up some food quickly.

"Three!" Hermione cried out, and they all began to shuffle food into their mouths.

Hermione, as everyone found out, was excellent at eating in a competition, she finished her food before anyone else, winning herself the competition. It had taken her about five minutes to eat the mountain of food before her, but as soon as she did, she slammed her fork down and scooped the money into her arms.

"Second gets their ten back!" She said, and everyone speedily swallowed their last bites, Charlie being the second to finish. He slammed his fork down and held out his hand as he swallowed his mouthful of food. She grinned and handed him his money back before pocketing the rest. Once everyone finished, they all sat around laughing.

"Damn, didn't think you would be able to do it." One said, pushing his plate away from him, and Hermione chuckled.

"If you had known her, you would know that Hermione Granger never fails at anything." Charlie said, and her face turned to him quickly.

"What?" She asked, she didn't think anyone she didn't go to school with would ever say that.

"Oh, Gin and Ron would brag about you all the time. I know you never once failed a test." He grinned at her.

"Why'd you bet against her mate?!" William cried out, making Charlie grin wickedly.

"Just wanted to see you lose some money maybe." He said, and William socked him in the arm.

"You git." He muttered under his breath.

This was another thing that Hermione loved about working with Dragon Tamers, one reason why she wanted to be one, she loved the comradery that came with working so close together. It was something that she had always wanted in a job, and she couldn't think of any other place where she would get it like this. She had quickly learned that if you weren't friends with everyone you worked with on a reserve, then you found yourself alone quite often. She loved that it meant basically being around people all the time, something she had craved after Hogwarts.

As the night went along, they decided to go to the local bar in Dragonsmeade. They walked together as a group, and as they entered the bar they all crowded around a table in the corner, Charlie continued to stay next to Hermione, which she was grateful for. She was still nervous about being around so many new people, she would adjust quickly but she needed a few days. She learned she had been right about William's name, but he preferred to be called Will. She liked him, he seemed to be really easy going and Will, Charlie and Hermione stayed sitting together in a little group.

"So, anyone want to do some shots?" Someone asked, and she perked up, she had started to love the taste of firewhiskey.

"Firewiskey." She said, and people cheered their agreement, they all threw some money at him, and he went to go grab the drinks. They stayed at the bar for a couple hours until Charlie stood up, and looked at Hermione.

"We have an early morning, we should get going." He said to her, and she nodded, setting her now empty glass down and placing some money on the table.

"Hey you lot, we're gonna get outta here." He said, and a couple people said bye while William and another guy tried to get them to stay.

"Sorry mate, Hermione is training tomorrow, and I'm her trainer, so we have to go." He said, giving William a hug, clapping him on the back, then they waved to everyone else and exited the bar.

"You alright to walk?" Charlie asked as soon as the door closed behind them. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Yes Charlie, I can walk. I can handle my drinks you know." She said, and he looked at her with a little concern before shrugging and they continued to walk.

"So when did you start drinking?" He asked her, and then it was her turn to shrug.

"Had a fling with an Irish guy for a little bit, and he liked his bars." She said, and Charlie nodded.

They continued the rest of their walk in silence, It was a lovely Autumn night out, and Hermione watched some dragons cross the sky as they walked. They reached their cabins and she turned to Charlie.

"You know, one reason I love dragons so much?" She asked, and he tilted his head slightly.

"No, why?" He asked.

"They are so... _free_." She said softly, looking back up, he then turned his gaze to the sky as well and they stood like that for a moment.

"We should get some sleep." Charlie said, clearing his throat at the same time, and Hermione let out a sigh, knowing he was right.

"Yeah, okay. See you in the morning Charlie." She said, turning to her cabin.

"Hey Hermione?" Charlie said, and she turned to look at him.

"You have changed." He said, smiling. "Change is good." He added, then he turned and walked to his cabin. Hermione shook her head, smiling a bit. He was an odd one, she thought as she entered her temporary home. Odd is good.


	3. Spark

A/N: Chapter 3! Enjoy please! I'm so happy people are liking this story! This chapter is slightly shorter, but its late and I felt like this was a success of a chapter. Please continue the reading things you do. JKR owns Harry Potter, as you very well know. R&R! Much loves- Bookworm

* * *

 **Spark**

The next morning was coupled with a slight headache when she woke up. She stumbled over to her small trunk in the corner, and pulled out her collapsible cauldron and a few ingredients. She whipped up a pepper up potion and downed it in just a few gulps. Immediately, her headache was gone.

She stood up and started to get dressed. She had picked up quickly on how to dress for this job, at the moment she pulled on some tight fitting jeans, a tanktop, her dragonhide boots, and a dragonhide jacket. It was all tight fitting clothes, they didn't want anything loose that a pissed dragon could get a hold on.

She ran her hands along the front of her jacket, she loved the feeling of the smooth hide. She had worried about wearing anything made out of the creatures she loved so much until someone explained it to her. All of the hide that made the clothes they wore was taken from dragons that had died. It was also useful to them in the sense that the dragons were less likely to attack someone who was wearing it, the hide still held some dragon magic, and they could sense it.

She grabbed her gloves, she wasn't sure if Charlie was going to set her loose today or not, and tucked them into her belt. She stepped outside and was hit with the morning chill of Romania. She took a deep breath and looked at her watch, she still had fifteen minutes before she was supposed to meet Charlie. She tucked her hands into her pockets and started to walk to the cantina, she figured she would be able to get some coffees there.

On her way, she saw a couple people they had been out with last night and made sure to give them a wave. She made it to the cantina in just a couple minutes and walked up to the counter. The same witch that had been there last night was there this morning.

"Hey darlin', what can I get you?" She asked when she saw Hermione.

"Two coffees please?" She asked, and the witch, who when Hermione saw her nametag was named Lucy, smiled and turned to the coffee pot on the counter. She grabbed two paper cups and filled them quickly.

"Can I get you anything else hun?" She asked, giving Hermione a wink again.

"No, that's it, thank you though." Hermione said, passing a few coins across the counter.

"Alrighty, you have a good mornin'." Lucy said, and Hermione gave her a smile.

"You too." She said, and Lucy's face seemed to brighten a bit. Hermione grabbed a couple sugars and stuffed them in her pocket, she took her coffee black, but she wasn't sure how Charlie took his. She went back to her cabin and sat down on her front steps, sipping her coffee and watching the sun get higher in the sky.

Another five minutes passed, and Charlie finally exited his cabin. Hermione stood and met him in the middle of the road and handing him a cup of coffee.

"Oh, thanks." He said, giving her a smile. He took a sip and made a face. "Got any-" He stopped speaking when she held out the sugar packets. He chuckled a bit as he took them.

"Morning Charlie." Hermione said, as he stirred the sugar into his coffee.

"Morning, you ready for today?" He asked, and he gestured for them to start walking.

"Yeah, I'm ready. What are we doing to start with?" Hermione asked him as they walked slowly down the road.

"Breakfast." He grunted out between sips of coffee. Hermione smiled, dragon keepers were notorious for never missing a meal, and for eating as much as they could in one sitting. They made their way to the cantina in silence, just sipping on their coffees.

They got their food, and joined some other keepers at a table. Hermione had gotten some bacon eggs and toast for her meal. Everyone around the table was silent as they ate, mornings were quiet, Hermione was learning. They ate quickly, and placed their dishes into a plastic bin by the kitchen. They then made their way outside, and Charlie walked a couple steps in front of Hermione, leading the way.

"Okay, so we're going to start with you just seeing some of the dragons we are trying to heal before letting them out." Charlie explained, leading the way to a large building.

"Okay, anything I should know before we see them?" Hermione asked, and Charlie looked back at her, smiling.

"Just be ready to never want to leave there sweethearts." Charlie said, and Hermione laughed. He slid a key card over a box, and the door popped open on their right. He held his arm out, letting Hermione go first. She walked inside, and looked around.

The walls were covered in diagrams of dragon anatomy, and there was a large map on her left that had pins all throughout it. She looked more closely, and realized that the pins were locations of reserves around the world.

Charlie paused next to her, and looked at the map. He had a small smile on his face.

"They're coming back, it's been slowly, but dragon numbers are growing." He said. "Let's go see the dragons." He said, and they walked down the corridor together. They finally rounded a corner and came upon rows and rows of large enclosures. Hermione peeked into the first to see a small Hungarian Horntail.

"What's wrong with her?" She asked softly.

"She hatched too early, and has trouble building up her muscle." Charlie explained.

"Hatched too early?" She asked. "How did that happen?"

"Another baby, tore open the egg. Doesn't happen often, but it does happen." He said. Hermione gazed at the dragon, who was chasing a rat on the ground. "Do you want to go inside and meet her?" Charlie asked, and Hermione nodded excitedly. He opened up the door to the enclosure, though he walked through first this time. Hermione followed behind him.

The dragon came over to them slowly, staring at them. Hermione stepped up to stand beside Charlie, and the dragon's gaze switched to her. She pumped her wings once before jaunting over to Hermione. Hermione held out her hand slowly, letting the dragon sniff her.

"We call her Aranyu." He said to her. "It's a Hungarian name that means gold. Since she has those eyes." He explained to her, and Aranyu nuzzled her snout against Hermione's side.

"Oh, hello Aranyu." Hermione said softly, and at hearing her name, the small dragon lifted her head to look at Hermione. She smiled, and passed her hand slowly down the dragon's head and neck.

"She likes you." Charlie said softly. Hermione looked at him, he was smiling at her.

"Oh, she's a sweetheart, I'm sure she does this with everyone." Hermione said, turning back to the dragon in front of her, who was now breathing out small puffs of smoke. She would then try to bite the smoke. Hermione laughed out loud and looked back over to Charlie, who looked amazed.

"No actually, she doesn't let anyone touch her." He explained, and Hermione gave him a doubtful glance. He rolled his eyes and took off one glove. "Watch." He said. He turned and looked at Aranyu. "Hey there beautiful." He said softly, holding out his hand. Aranyu sniffed at it, the quickly walked away from them.

"Huh." Hermione said, placing her hands on her hips. "Why do you think?" She asked, and Charlie shrugged then gazed at her.

"You're just… special." He said with a shrug, and Hermione stared at him.

"How in the world could I be special?" She asked gently.

"She let you near her, she's never done that with anyone. You are special." Charlie said, giving Hermione a smile. She felt her stomach flutter a little, and felt some blood rush to her cheeks. "Let's go see some others." Charlie said, and Hermione nodded, they left the enclosure, Hermione had her face down, trying to hide the blush in her cheeks as they continued on their way.


	4. Heat

A/N: Enjoy this new chapter! JKR owns Harry Potter, obviously. Also, though I pride myself on my extensive knowledge of the Harry Potter universe, I had no idea where the other reserves were other than Romania, I just found out I had the number right, but the locations were wrong, I still like mine, so I'm going to keep them in those locations. R&R! Much Loves- Bookworm

* * *

 **Heat**

After a couple of weeks, they found out that Hermione was very good at getting newborns to eat. Something that the reserve had been having a problem with. Though she made sure to take the time to visit Aranyu every day. They seemed to have a unique bond, something that Charlie said was very special, he had a couple dragons that had imprinted on him like that since he had been around for so long.

It had been exactly two weeks since Hermione had started working on the reserve, and she loved it here. She knew that a lot of keepers chose to work in China or Canada. They had large reserves, where most dragons were tracked and looked after, but Hermione already knew that once her training was over, she would be putting in her application to be working in Romania. She had been on the verge of telling Charlie this, but he began to talk about maybe taking some time off to go visit his family once her training was over, and the more that she had thought about it, the more she realized that she could just surprise him when he came back by staying here.

At the moment, she was feeding the baby dragons their morning meal, which consisted of rats that had been given tablets full of special nutrients from specific plants that the dragons needed. In the wild, they would typically just feed on other little creatures that ate the magical plants, but rats wouldn't touch the plant itself, and they had a hard time getting any other animal in such large supply.

As soon as the feeding was done, Hermione went to the cantina for her breakfast, and saw Charlie, who had just sat down. She quickly got her food, an omelet and some toast, and walked over to the table he was sitting at. She pulled off her jacket and put it on the bench next to where she was going to sit before sitting down herself. Will was sitting across from them, and as soon as he saw some of the scars on her arms, he swallowed the food he had in his mouth.

"Oi, Hermione, where'd you get those?" He asked, pointing at her arm with his fork. She looked down and laughed.

"Will, are you telling me that in your first six months working with dragons you never got hurt?" She asked, and he shook his head as Charlie chuckled, she took a bite of her toast, waiting for Will to clarify.

"Naw, i mean how did you get them?" He said, and she glanced at his arms, they seemed to be a lot less scarred then hers.

" Well these ones," She said, dropping her fork and placing three fingers on three parallel scars. "are from a blind dragon in China that I had ran in front of. I scared him apparently and he scratched at me." She said, and Will raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"An' that nasty purple one?" He asked her, gesturing to his own shoulder in the spot where she had a scar on hers.

"Oh, same dragon spit at me a bit." She said casually, and he stared at her.

"Spit at you?" He repeated. "Like, he spit fire at you?" He asked.

"Yes.." She said slowly. "It's not a big deal." She said. And he shook his head.

"Wait, what kind of dragon was this?" He asked her, and now Charlie was really paying attention to the conversation.

"Ummm… A Peruvian Vipertooth." She said. "Only one in the region, he got lost and he was blind. He was so old he just couldn't find his way back, so they kept him there." She explained to him.

"Hm." She heard from Charlie.

"Wait, why does that matter at all?" She asked, looking back and forth between them.

"You said that the most recent reserve you were at was in China?" Will asked, not answering her question. She nodded, still looking back and forth.

"Well, you know how we've been wondering why so many of the dragons like you?" Charlie asked her.

"Yeah, can you just get to the point?" She asked him, and both of the men chuckled.

"Yeah, well maybe when he hit you, you got some of his magic in you? Old dragons like that… they tend to leak a bit. Magic becomes to heavy for them. And Peruvian Vipers, well their flame usually has poison in it, but maybe instead of poison, you got magic? It's all a guess, but I mean, it seems pretty likely." Charlie explained to her, and after some thought, she nodded. It did make the most sense.

" Oh, I almost forgot." Charlie said, shaking his head. "Hermione, Eric decided that since you are doing so well and catch on so quickly, that were going to test you in a couple weeks. You hit us during prime hatching season, so you have really learned everything you need to." Charlie said, smiling at her.

"Hey! Congratulations on that, I had to wait months for mine, I got here before they even started mating." Will said, standing and giving her a huge grin before leaving to put his things in the dish bin and then leaving the cantina.

"Are you serious Charlie? But what about… you know, the conservation part?" She asked, and he laughed a little.

"Honestly, we claim that as a specialty but every reserve specializes in conservation, its literally our job. Someone was pranking us by putting that on the startup sheet, and we just never changed it." He explained, and soon enough, Hermione was laughing with him. They went their separate ways after leaving the cantina, and Hermione felt like a stone had formed in her stomach.

She would be finishing her training a lot sooner than she thought, she had hoped for at least another month so that she could get used to the place she would be hopefully working at.

She was nervous the entire day, and had almost missed the dinner bell that evening. She once again sat down next to Charlie, without speaking. After a few moments, Charlie set down his fork and knife and turned to Hermione.

"Okay, spit it out, did something happen today?" He asked her, and she sighed softly.

"Well.. I just thought I would have more time to get ready for my final test. I don't even know who's administering it. I'm nervous." She said, and Charlie stared at her.

"Well.. I am. I was your trainer, so I'll be administering the test." He said, smiling at her. She immediately felt more relaxed knowing that he would be there instead of some stranger.

"Oh, well that's a relief. I won't be worried that much about that then." She said, taking a bite of her dinner, it tasted quite bland tonight.

"You shouldn't be, you'll be brilliant." Charlie said, and she looked at him, he was looking down at his plate but she noticed that the back of his neck was red. She quickly turned to her own meal and felt heat reach her cheeks.

"Well… thank you Charlie." She muttered, tucking into her food. She heard a throat clear, and glanced across the table to see Eric sitting there.

"Well, you could cut the tension in 'ere with a dull knife." He said, biting into a burger. He looked back and forth between Charlie and Hermione.

"What you mean Eric?" Charlie said nonchalantly.

"If you lot don't already know, I won't be the one to tell ya." He said, and Hermione glanced over at Charlie the same moment he glanced at her. Both of them snapped their heads back down and heard a laugh from Eric. They finished there meals in an awkward silence, and then left the cantina to go to their respective cabins. Hermione and Charlie walked together, though neither spoke. Charlie finally said something when they reached their destination.

"Hermione?" He asked her.

"Yeah?" She said, facing him slightly.

"I meant what I said, you don't need to worry about the test at all. I know you will pass it with flying colors. I mean, you noticed before anyone else that Murray had scale rot last week, you are already a Dragonologist, you don't need to have a piece of paper to know that." He said, and she grinned. It was the first time that someone had complimented her like that in a long time.

"According to the ministry, I do need that piece of paper." She said in a lighthearted tone, making Charlie laugh and shake his head.

"Well in that case, they probably should have just given you the certificate when you got your startup package." He said, she smiled. He gave her a small wave and turned to walk into his cabin.

She had worked very hard to get where she was today, and she knew that in the dragon keeper community Charlie was held in high esteem. To hear him say everything he had just said to her, she was extremely happy. She knew now that Romania is the perfect choice for her, especially since it meant that she would be working with Charlie. He seemed to really respect her talent, and she greatly appreciated that. She couldn't wait to actually be living here, and working here.


	5. Pressure

A/N: I'm so sorry, my life is crazy right now. My husband and I are in the process of packing up our house so that we can move, and its been really frustrating. Anyway, I know that this isn't the best chapter, but I hope you enjoy, and check out my completed Drinny story! JKR owns Harry Potter. R&R! Much Loves - Bookworm

* * *

 **Pressure**

She sat alone outside of the testing room, the past two weeks had flown by, and she had spent every spare moment reading up on everything that she had learned these last seven months to get ready for her test. She was worried that she would have forgotten something important, and that she would fail the test that she had worked so hard to get to.

This was too important to her to fail, not that she made a habit of failing things that were less important to her, but this had taken up so much of her time and energy, she didn't want to leave anything up to chance. She had been teased lightly from some other Dragon Tamers, but she had just shrugged it off, she knew they just wanted her to loosen up, but she was too focused to let it bother her.

The day had finally arrived, and now she was just waiting for Charlie to call her in. She knew that the test was mostly writing essays, but she also knew she would have to interact with a dragon, which she wasn't worried about one bit. The test was a pass/fail, it all depended on the skills you showed.

She sat in the chair, trying to clear her mind, and twiddling her thumbs out of nervousness. She glanced at the door, it had been about an hour since she sat down, she assumed they had to get the dragon that she would test with into the enclosure. She heard a couple thuds, and it made her heart thump against her chest slightly. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes when she heard footsteps on the other side of the door. She rubbed her palms on her pants, getting the nervous sweat off of them as the door opened. Eric stepped through the door and gave her a glance.

"I think 'es ready for ya lassie." Eric said, and she gave him a nervous smile. "Go on in." He said, gesturing to the door and she nodded. She took another deep breath, and was calm. She stepped into the room and heard the door shut softly behind her.

"Hey Hermione, you ready?" Charlie, who was standing next to a singular desk in the room, asked her.

"Yeah, I'm ready." She said, and he nodded.

"Okay, so we supply the quill and parchment to answer everything. If you need any extra, just ask. I will take your wand before you start, if you would hand it over?" He said all this while sounding more serious than she had ever heard him sound. It seemed as though he did this quite a bit. She stepped over to him and handed over her wand while taking her seat. She looked down at the paper of questions and smiled, she was very confident she would do well, she had always excelled at answering essay questions.

"Okay, you have two hours on the essay portion, then I'll introduce you to the dragon." He smiled and turned over an hour glass, signaling that she was to start.

The essay questions were easy, and she easily filled the entire roll of parchment. She read over and was able to revise whatever needed it before the time was up. Once the sand emptied, Charlie came and grabbed her parchment.

"Okay Hermione, now you will meet your Dragon, and you need to figure out what is wrong with her, and if you can, fix it." Hermione nodded, and he led her over to the attached enclosure, where he gave her back her wand and let her inside. She entered slowly, and saw a dragon laying in the middle of the enclosure. She was awake, but she looked very weak. Hermione made her way slowly over to the dragon, wand in hand.

"Hey girl, I'm just here to figure out what you need. Okay darling?" She said softly. She reached the dragon, who sniffed and closed her eyes. Hermione placed her hand on the dragon and closed her eyes, soaking in the feel of the dragon's magic.

"Now, lets figure this out, shall we?" Hermione asked, walking down the length of the dragon, she currently had no idea what could be wrong with this creature, but she was determined that she was going to figure it out. As the first step, she walked slowly around the dragon, running her hand along the scales. She could feel some bones, she wasn't eating enough. Hermione noted that quickly on the piece of parchment that she had been given. She thought for a moment before writing down her solution. They needed to put more food into her enclosure, and give the food more nutrients, it was actually the only solution. She finished her circle around the dragon and looked into her eyes, then her mouth, and she noticed something odd. The dragons eyes were a blue color, but this species' eyes were always an amber color. She 9started to think, making another circle. She came up to the rear of the dragon, and noticed that she seemed to be laying an egg.

"Charlie!" She called out. "I need help!" She said, crouching down. To anyone else, this would be disgusting, but she needed to see what was wrong.

"Hermione, you know I can't do that unless it's life or death!" He called out. She shook her head in frustration. She grabbed onto the egg, it was hard as a rock. When a dragon laid an egg, it was still somewhat soft for a few hours, the egg had started to develop before she had lain it, which meant that she had probably been trying to push it out for a few days. She could have developed an infection by now.

"Charlie, it really could be life or death!" She called out. She heard him rush next to her and she looked up at him, worried.

"Charlie, she's been trying to push this egg out for days. She could be sick. That would explain why she hasn't been eating. We need to get it out." She said, and he nodded. They worked together to pull the egg out, and quickly got out of the way with the egg while the dragon stood up. They set it down, and backed up while she sniffed the egg. She then curled up around it, her instincts kicking in.

"We should let some food in for her, she really needs to eat." Hermione suggested, and Charlie agreed with her before leading the way out of the enclosure. He stared at her once they were safely out of the room.

"How did you figure that out? We thought she just needed more food." Charlie said, and Hermione smiled.

"Her eyes were blue, that species only ever has blue eyes when trying to lay an egg since it takes more magic." Hermione explained to him, and he nodded.

"I can't believe nobody else caught that." He said. "Well, I better go let Eric know how you did. How about you take a seat, he will be back soon to let you know." Charlie said, and Hermione sat down, nervous again, as Charlie left the room. She placed her hands in her lap, and waited. About five minutes passed and Eric entered the room with a stack of paperwork.

"Congrats lassie, ya passed. E'res your official papers. Fill 'em out and give 'em back to me. Do ya know where you wan to be placed?" Eric asked, and Hermione grinned.

"Yeah, if I get approved, I want to be placed here." She said, and for the first time, she saw Eric grin.

"Then here you will be." He said, setting the papers down. "It'll be good to have ya 'ere." He said, before leaving the room. She looked at the papers, and then looked up when she heard someone enter the room.

"Hey, you should know that you passed with flying colors." Charlie said, back to sounding laid back. "So.. do you know where you're gonna be placed?" He asked her, sitting down on the table.

"Umm… " She fiddled with the papers a little before answering. "No, Eric said I could take the day and think about it." She lied, and Charlie nodded.

"Okay." He said, hopping off of the table. "Well, I should probably go finish packing. I take off tonight to surprise mum." He smiled at her, and started toward the door. "Oh hey, send me an owl when you decide, okay?" Charlie asked, and Hermione nodded with a smile.

"Yeah, course Charlie." Hermione said. "Send them my love." She said, turning back to her paperwork. She smiled, Charlie wouldn't be getting a letter from her. He would just come back from his leave to find out that she had stayed. She loved her plan, she thought as she filled out her papers. She couldn't wait to surprise him.


	6. Forgiveness

A/N: I'm so sorry, I've been having a rough time right now. Just bear with me. JKR owns Harry Potter. R&R

* * *

 **Forgiveness**

He hadn't been home in a while, and he couldn't bring himself to just walk inside just yet. He had his bag slung over his shoulder, and was looking up at the building that was standing tall over him, he knew that it was the home he had grown up in, but he was nervous that everything was going to be different. He let out a sigh, this would be the first time that he would see his family since the funeral.

Charlie had taken the death of his younger brother very hard. He blamed himself a lot, he blamed himself for not being able to be at the castle when he was needed. It had taken Hermione saying something to him a few weeks ago to realize that he didn't need to blame himself. He still hadn't spoken with his mother though, and he was honestly scared to. He knew that she was understanding, and she understood the position he had been put in, but he also knew how emotional she was.

He set his shoulders and took a deep breath, hiking his bag up further onto his shoulder. He walked to the front door, and reached up to knock. He paused and shook his head, he shouldn't knock. He let his hand fall onto the handle and he slowly opened the door. He made sure to open the door slowly so that he didn't make any noise, he didn't want to wake them up if anyone was asleep. He stepped inside and set his bag down on the bench next to the door. He shut the door quietly as he stepped inside, and made his way further into the house. He peeked into the living room and saw his mother and father sitting side by side on the couch, a fire dying down in the fireplace in front of them. He smiled and stepped into the living room, his boots clicking as he stepped off of the carpet. His mother looked up, and as soon as she saw him, she jumped up.

"Charlie? Is that really you?" She said, and he laughed.

"Hey mum, got a week of leave, you mind if I stay here for a bit?" He said, laughing a little as she quickly made her way over to him.

"Oh, don't be silly young man." She said, pulling him into a hug. He smiled, and hugged her tightly back. He was by far the shortest of all the men in his large family, measuring only a head higher than his mother. He randomly thought about this fact while they hugged until he realized that Hermione was just a few inches shorter than him. He shook the thought away, and looked at his mother.

"Hey mum, I am kinda hungry, is there any food?" He asked, and she patted his arm.

"Of course, let me just whip something up." She said, and he bent down and gave her a peck on the cheek.

"Thank you, I think I'll stay in here, catch up with Dad." He said, and his mum nodded.

"Okay, be back in a jiff." She said, disappearing into the kitchen. Charlie looked over at his dad, who was staring at him in silence. They stayed like that for a moment before Charlie broke the silence.

"I'm so sorry Dad." He choked out. "I couldn't be there to help you… I'm so sorry." He said, and a couple tears escaped his eyes as his father enveloped him into a hug.

"It's not your fault son, and it's all over now. We're safe now." His dad said, and Charlie nodded, taking a deep breath. It calmed him to hear his dad tell him that it was okay. He took a deep breath and he and his dad looked at each other for a moment before clearing their throats at the same time.

"So, son how has work been?" He asked Charlie, and they sat down together on the couch.

"Well, these last couple months have been interesting." Charlie said, and his dad looked over at him.

"Why's that?" He asked.

"Well…" He paused for a moment, he had figured that Hermione would have sent them letters telling them everything. "I just finished training Hermione. She just passed her test, she's a Dragon Keeper now." He said proudly, he knew that she would be an amazing dragon keeper.

"Hermione? She.. she did what?" He heard his mum say from the doorway leading to the kitchen. "Charlie? How did she do that?"

"Wait, I thought she told you guys?" He said, confused. He looked over at his dad, who had a guilty look on his face.

"Molly, I must have forgotten to tell you, I found out at work." He said, and Charlie looked back and forth between them.

"Well… It's her choice, just not something I could see a sweet girl like her going into that profession." She said, and she brought him a large sandwich with crisps on a plate. "Here you are dear." She said, handing it to him.

"Thanks mum." He said, taking the plate and thinking about how much his mum was wrong about Hermione, she was strong, and fierce. He knew that dragon keeper was what she was meant to be, but he could see why people wouldn't be able to see her that way. Some people would probably only be able to see her as part of the Golden Trio.

He finished his sandwich before he could even realize it, he had been thinking about Hermione the whole time. His mother and father had continued to speak about what they had just found out while he ate his food. He tuned back into the conversation, they were now talking about Hermione and Ron and what had happened. His dad was trying to convince his mother that Hermione had moved on, that she and Ron wouldn't be getting back together anytime soon. His mum was trying to say that she was sure that they would be getting back together anytime now.

"Um.. Mum?" Charlie interrupted. His mum looked over to him, her eyebrows raised.

"Yes dear?" She asked him.

"Mum, Hermione has changed so much, I don't think that they are going to get back together. She is a different person now." Charlie said softly, trying to be gentle with his mother.

"No dear, I'm sure of it. She's going to be a part of this family." His mother said, and he shook his head.

"Mum, she already is part of this family. She doesn't have to marry into it too." Charlie said, waving his wand and his plate disappeared, he had sent it to the kitchen. "I'm really tired, I think I'm going to go to bed." He said, and he stood up. "Mum… Hermione is special. Don't try to get her to do anything that she doesn't want to do." He said, turning and going up the stairs to his room.


	7. Burn

A/N: I am truly sorry that it took so long for me to get this chapter out. I couldn't bring myself to write at all. I'm so sorry. I will try to never do that again, and of course I will get the next chapter out soon.

* * *

 **Burn**

The next morning was slow, Ron had moved out and started living with Harry at Grimmauld Place and Ginny was finishing her last term at Hogwarts so it was just Charlie and his parents. Charlie had woken up before his Mum and Dad, and brewed up a fresh pot of coffee. He sat down on one of the stools next to the counter and picked up the paper from the day before and began to read it. He sipped his coffee slowly and thought about making breakfast. He shook his head, he didn't really feel like cooking.

After a bit, he heard someone coming down the stairs. He poured another cup of coffee and set it on the counter. He looked over to see his Mum enter, and grinned.

"Morning Mum." He said, gesturing to the cup of coffee. She smiled sleepily and picked the warm mug up in her hands.

"Good Morning Charlie. How did you sleep?" She asked, and he took a gulp of coffee before answering. He hadn't slept that great, he had been anticipating an owl from Hermione and it hadn't come. Maybe she would send it today.

"Fine Mum, thanks." He said. They sat in silence for a moment before she set her coffee down.

"Alright dear, what would you like for breakfast?" She asked him, and he grinned.

"Waffles and sausage?" He asked hopefully, it had been his favorite breakfast choice for as long as he could remember.

"Oh, that's perfect dear." She said, moving around the kitchen quickly. She talked as she made breakfast, telling him about how hard George had been working to keep the shop running, and how Ron helped him. She told him how Harry was in training, and how that was going, and about how Ginny had become the Quidditch captain and she wanted to play professionally.

"Are Gin and Harry together again?" Charlie asked, and his Mum nodded.

"Oh yes, they had the entire summer to spend together before she went back to school, they figured out what they wanted." She said. "It's a good thing too, Harry deserves a nice girl like your sister. They make a good pair." She said, and Charlie nodded in agreement.

"That's good, I know it was hard on Gin when he went off." Charlie said, and this time his Mum nodded. Charlie watched as his Mum dished up breakfast and set a plate in front of him. He reached for his fork and she swatted his hand.

"Let me go get your father and we can eat together." She said, and he grinned. He had been away for too long. It only took a few minutes for him to hear a pair of footsteps coming down the stairs. He nodded good morning to his dad and they all sat together to eat. There wasn't much conversation, only a few things here and there from his mum, until they finished their meal.

"So son, how is Hermione doing?" His dad asked, making him look up.

"Oh, um well she passed her tests, and she's supposed to be deciding on what reserve she wants to be at. I should be getting an owl from her today about it actually." He said, glancing toward the window.

"I'll let you know if I see one dear." His mum said, gathering up all the plates and going over to the sink.

"Do you think that she will be able to handle everything without you there?" His dad asked, and Charlie felt a knot in his stomach.

"Oh I'm sure she will." He said with faux confidence.

"You're worried though?" his dad said, and Charlie nodded.

"How could I not be? She's a risk taker, that one. I'm worried she's gonna get hurt." Charlie said softly, so that his mum didn't hear him. Romania was two hours ahead of England, so it was about ten in the morning. He knew that she would either be packing right now, or she was feeding her dragons if she had chosen to stay. He shook his head, he didn't like that he was left wondering.

 **Romania 6am:**

Hermione woke up with a headache and looked around, this was not her cabin. She was on a couch. And stood up and peeked over to the bed. She saw a large mass in the bed and realized quickly that it was the Head Dragon Keeper, Eric. She gasped and cover her mouth.

She scurried around, looking for her shoes when she heard a chuckle behind her, she looked over to see Eric staring at her.

"In the bench by the door lassie." He said, watching her in amusement.

"Thank you." She said softly and practically ran to where he said. She pulled them on quickly and reached for the door handle.

"Not even goin' to stay for breakfast?" She heard, and she turned to him.

"No, I'm really sorry. I'm so sorry, this was a mistake-"

"Lassie, we didn't do nothin'." He said, and she stopped talking. "You were way to pissed to make it to your cabin. I let you stay 'ere." He said, and she sighed in relief.

"Oh thank god." She said softly, and she saw him raise his eyebrows. "Oh come off it, I didn't mean it like that!" She said, and he chuckled.

"I know lass. Let me get dressed and we can walk to the cantina together." He said, getting up. He let the blanket fall off him and Hermione realized that he was only wearing underwear.

"I'll meet you outside." She said as she opened the door and exited the cabin. She heard a chuckle as she closed it before sitting down on the steps. She sighed, thank god nothing had happened. She was sure Charlie wouldn't like that, she thought. She wasn't sure why she cared what Charlie would think though, it's not like they were a couple. She rolled her eyes at herself and then raised her eyes to look up at the sky, soaking the sun into her skin. She sat like this until she heard the door open and close behind her. She stood up and they walked to the cantina in silence.

As they entered together, all eyes turned to them, and she found the table of people she had been out drinking with the night before, she waved at them, but nobody returned it. She got her food, not indulging the flirtatious Lucy this morning. Just thanking her and turning away. She walked over to the table and their conversation stopped as she sat down. She took a bite of her food then looked around to find everyone staring at her.

"Umm… What's going on?" She asked Will, who was sitting next to her.

"We're trying to figure out if you an' Eric shagged last night." The man across from her, James, said.

"Oh, be serious, what is it?" Hermione said, looking around. They all looked at her pointedly. "Seriously? Well, I'll let you lot figure it out yourselves then." She said, and she heard a couple disappointed groans. "Out of curiosity, what are the stakes?"

"Well, I don't think you did. Neither does Sean and Cross. We bet a total of seventy that you didn't. The rest of them think you did, and they pooled together a hundred." Will said, and Hermione's mouth fell open.

"Okay, I will give you lot a week from today to figure out if I did or not, but I will not tell you until then." She said, smiling mischievously. They all laughed and agreed, handing all the money to her and she put it into a pouch in her pocket. "You lot can have it back when you get it right." She said. They finished there breakfast quickly and set off to do their jobs, Hermione had been given five dragons to look after and then she was to look after one of Charlie's as well. She was very excited to start her first day.

She started out with feeding them, then she had to clean them. She had gotten lucky with that one, they tried to clean the sick ones about once a week, and it just so happened that today was that day. It was easier for her, since she got along so well with most of the dragons. She cleaned all of hers, no problem before going to Charlie's dragon. He didn't fully trust her yet, so he took a lot longer to wash than the others. She was patient with him though, and was finished with him by the time she had to clean all the cages.

It was more difficult, working by herself, but she liked it. She only got one small scratch from a baby that day, and she finished feeding them again before dinner. She was exhausted, and her pants were ruined after she got scratched. She thought about changing before going to the cantina, but the thought of food drove that out of her mind. She found the table Will and James were sitting at, and sat down with them. They noticed the blood on her pants and joked about it before she told them what had happened. Will took a closer look at it, he had been a healer before coming to the reserve, and he used a spell to make the blood clot before telling her that she would be fine. She nodded and poked at the hole in her jeans.

"I really liked these jeans.." She said with a sigh, and Will laughed.

"So did I." James said, absentmindedly. Hermione smacked his arm, making Will laugh even harder.

"Mate. You have got to think about what you say before you say it." Will said. James blushed slightly and apologized to Hermione, who shook her head and ate her dinner.

"You lot are animals." She said, and all of them laughed.

"Hermione, you are one of this lot." James said, circling his finger around the table. She smiled at him.

"James, I am fully aware of that." She said, and with that she finished her meal and made her way outside.

She walked slowly to her cabin, pausing to glance over at Charlie's cabin before stepping inside. Maybe she should have told him that she was staying, she thought as she changed into more comfortable clothes. She considered writing him to tell him, but decided against it. She couldn't tell him now, she had committed, she needed to stick with it. She fell into bed, exhausted and as soon as her head hit the pillow, she was asleep.


	8. Return

A/N: New Chapter! Enjoy! JKR owns Harry Potter!

* * *

 **Return**

Hermione never wrote to him about where she was going to be at. Charlie had given up on expecting a letter after the third day. He was walking slowly into the reserve, his bag low in his hand. He didn't have high hopes on Hermione being here. When they talked about everywhere she had been, it seemed as though she really liked Canada.

He sighed, he had enjoyed his visit with his family. He had even met Ron's new American girlfriend. His mum didn't seem to much like her though, which Charlie thought was absurd. Ron seemed happier than ever, even asked about Hermione. He had also found out that Ron had only moved in with Harry because Ginny had decided last minute to go back to Hogwarts.

He made his way to the rows of cabins, and walked down the row until he got to his. He glanced up at Hermione's cabin, still wondering why Hermione never sent him a letter. He saw a light on in one of the windows. Was she still here? Or did someone else move in already. He shook his head, he didn't want to worry about that right now. He made his way up the steps into his cabin and set his bag down inside the door.

He knew that dinner was in just a few minutes, but he really needed a shower. He quickly stripped while he let the water heat up, and opened up a beer to drink. His shower only took about fifteen minutes, but it seemed like it took hours. He then threw on some of his more comfortable clothes and made his way to the cantina. He stood in line, got his food, and quickly found the table that his close friend's were sitting at. He smiled, he recognized Hermione's bushy hair. She had stayed. He quickly walked over and was about to set down his food when he heard James say something.

"So, I say you shagged him." James said, not noticing Charlie standing slightly behind Hermione.

"Come on?! How have you not come around yet? She didn't shag Eric!" Charlie heard Will say. He could feel his face getting red.

"Okay boys, okay." Hermione said. Nobody had noticed him yet, and he was surprised. "It's been a week. You get to find out now." She set a pouch on the table and Charlie heard it clink a bit, it was holding coins. "I… did…" And Charlie slammed his plate on the table next to her.

"Are you serious Hermione? Really? You shagged Eric?" He said, he was angry. He thought that Hermione would have more sense than that. He turned and walked away.

Hermione turned back to the table in shock. "Not. I did not… James… Did you know that he was standing there?" Hermione asked, and James shook his head. She stood up with a sigh. "Well I best go handle that." She said, and walked quickly after Charlie. She could see him walking in front of her, and as soon as she was out of the cantina, she started running.

"Charlie! Come on! Stop it, just wait." She called out, and she saw the back of his head shake a bit. She quickened her pace, and caught up with him. She stepped in front of him and stopped walking. "Charlie." She gasped, trying to catch her breath. For being pretty short he could walk very quickly. "Can you please stop?" She asked. She placed her hands on her knees to catch her breath. She noticed that his hands were shaking. She slowly looked up and noticed that he was also red in the face.

"Charlie-" She started.

"Hermione how could you be so stupid? He is old enough to be your father! The last employee that slept with him was gone the next week! You CAN NOT sleep with the boss… Hermione how could you be so reckless?" He said. He had started out angry, but by the time he had finished speaking, his voice had softened, he could tell that Hermione was upset. She looked like she was holding back tears. "Hermione?" He asked softly after a moment. He reached his hand out to put his hand on her shoulder, but she moved out of the way, he let his hand drop and he stared at her, suddenly he wasn't angry, but worried that Hermione wasn't saying anything.

"Charlie… I didn't sleep with him." She said softly. "I just got pissed and couldn't walk to my cabin so I slept of the couch." His mouth fell open, he had been such an idiot.

"Oh Hermione.. I'm so sorry." He said.

"No, why in the world would you just assume something like that?" Hermione asked, she looked up at him, upset. "You know me, why would you just think that?"

"Hermione, I'm sorry. You're right. Look, I'm sorry." He said quickly, she looked like she was sad enough that she might cry. He opened up his arms, and she hesitated to hug him until he took a step forward. He folded his muscled arms around her small frame as she took a few shaky breaths.

They stood like that for a moment, then separated. They stared at each other until Hermione spoke.

"Charlie, why do you care so much if I slept with him anyway?" Hermione asked. He continued to look at her for a moment before answering.

"I don't… I just don't want you to get hurt." He said, she gazed at him for a moment before nodding slightly.

"Are you still hungry? Do you want to go back to the cantina?" Hermione suggested.

"Not really… I think I'm just gonna head back to the cabin." Charlie said. "Care to walk with me?" He asked, and Hermione nodded. They started walking together, and Charlie thought about what to say next.

"So.. I'm surprised that you're here still." He said, and Hermione laughed.

"Yeah… I was trying to leave it a surprise. I told Eric as soon as I passed my test that I wanted to be here." Hermione said, and Charlie smiled.

"Well, I was definitely surprised." He said, and she nodded.

"Maybe not in the best way." She said softly, he shrugged. They walked the rest of the way to the cabins just making small talk, Charlie told Hermione about his week with his family. Hermione laughed when he told her that his mum was bent on her and Ron ending up together.

"Not going to happen. Bless mum, I know her heart's in the right place, but she's so wrong. Anyway, my taste in men have changed." Hermione said blatantly. Charlie looked over at him, his head tilted slightly.

"And what has it changed to?" He asked cautiously. She glanced at him, an eyebrow raised before looking forward again, they could see their cabins from here.

"Well… I guess now I like Dragon Tamers. I work with them, live with them, similar interests. And you know, if anything happens on the job the other person gets it. You know?" She said, they stopped walking as they reached where their cabins were.

"Yeah.. I guess that makes sense. And my brother is none of those things." Charlie laughed. Hermione smiled and glanced at her cabin door then back at Charlie.

"I'm exhausted… We had to get a dragon to an enclosure today, so I should probably get to bed." Hermione said, and Charlie nodded in agreement.

"Goodnight Hermione." Charlie said, and she smiled at him.

"Night Charlie. Oh, and welcome back." She said, giving him a quick hug. They turned away and made their ways into their cabins. Charlie shut the door behind him softly, thinking about what had happened. He let out a sigh and smiled, he was happy that she had chose to stay.


	9. Spitfire

A/N: Here's the newest chapter. Enjoy! JKR owns Harry Potter.

* * *

 **Spitfire**

Things changed after Hermione got hurt again. This time, she had purple burns running up one of her legs. She was in the infirmary at the moment, reading a book.

She had been going about her usual routine, cleaning her dragon's enclosures for the third time since she had started working officially at the reserve. She had thought that the dragon was asleep, but it turns out that she hadn't been. Hermione had gotten a little too close to her and had startled her. Hermione had been hit with the fire, and if Charlie hadn't been walking by the enclosure at that moment, then she probably would have been killed.

This incident prompted a change of policy, two Dragon Tamers on the job. They had been pushing for the Romanian Ministry to change the policy for months now, but only now did they listen and allow a change. Eric had been livid and actually went to the ministry to demand that they let him take on more Tamers. They were bringing in more every day, and Hermione was just waiting to find out who they placed her with.

Hermione was about to fall asleep, the book wasn't quite holding her attention, when Charlie walked in.

"Hey there Spitfire." He said, and she laughed. Her friends had dubbed her Spitfire after the incident. She actually liked the nickname. "They finally assigned partners." He told her, and she sat up. She sucked in a sharp breath as her healing skin stretched under her bandages. "Hey, hey take it easy alright?" He said, setting his hand on her shoulder and pushing her lightly back onto her pillows.

"Okay… Um who's my partner?" She asked, looking at him. He went a little red before answering.

"Me. I asked Eric to make me your partner. I was the one who got you when you were hurt, so it just seems right. I hope that's okay? It means that we will have a few more dragons to look after, but I don't really trust anyone else to watch your back." He said nervously, she gazed at him thoughtfully for a moment before smiling.

"That's brilliant Charlie, I'm not sure your mum would let you hear the end of it if you didn't demand that you were my partner anyway." She said, and Charlie laughed.

"Well I'm glad you're okay with it. Um… there is one other thing though." He said, and once again he looked nervous.

"What is it?" She asked him.

"Well, since we are taking in more Dragon Tamers, they are making all of the cabins for two people to live in. And.. they kinda want the partners set to share the cabins." Charlie said, and now it was Hermione's turn to go red.

"Huh, well that'll be interesting. Shouldn't be too weird though, we've stayed in the same house before." Hermione said, although she did think that it was going to be slightly awkward. They had stayed in the same house before, but this seemed less like a temporary situation.

"Okay, well they are moving people's cabins today… Would you like me to move your stuff into the new room in my cabin? I would move my stuff to yours, but I think I might have more to move." He said, and after a moment, she nodded her agreement.

"Yeah, that makes sense. Oh hey, I think they said that I was going to be discharged today, so if you need any help?" She said, and Charlie shook his head.

"Naw, it's fine. You need your rest. You have another week off until you start working again. I can handle moving you in, okay? Don't you worry about it." Charlie said.

"Okay, well will you let me know when you're all done so that I can get out of here, it's so boring…" Hermione said, and Charlie nodded with a slight laugh.

"You got it, Spitfire." He gave her a gentle hug goodbye and proceeded to walk out of the infirmary. He made his way through the reserve and to the cabins, making a beeline to hers. He took the front steps two at a time and stepped into the cabin. It was so bare, he couldn't help but notice how little she really had. It only took him two trips to move everything she had, though it helped that he could just levitate it right across to his cabin. He looked down the road and noticed that many other people were also moving their cabins. Everyone seemed surprisingly pleased with the new arrangement, they all knew that it would help everyone stay safe, that they would have someone to watch their backs now when they were in a dangerous situation.

He finished putting her things into the new extra room, the ministry had come along earlier and magically made each cabin a two bedroom. He also put her toiletries in the bathroom. It was odd, he hadn't lived with someone in a while. Sure, he would visit home a bit, but other than that he had been alone for years.

One he was completely finished, he sent a talking patronus charm to Hermione saying that the cabin was set up for her. He then went out to sit on the front steps to watch the sun start to sink while he waited for her. He wasn't sure if she would feel up to going to the cantina tonight or if she would like to eat here at the cabin, so he thought he would just ask once she got here. After about ten minutes, he saw her making her way down the narrow road, she was definitely walking slower. He stood up and walked out to meet her.

"Hey, I was wondering, cantina or the cabin for dinner? I wasn't sure which one you would prefer." He asked her, she stopped walking, and placed her hand gingerly on her thigh, she was wearing shorts so that the scars didn't get irritated, while she thought. Charlie's eyes landed on her leg, they had taken the bandage off. When a dragon spit fire at you the best thing to do was to let it breath, if it was covered it always took much longer to heal that was normal. If uncovered, they typically healed up quite quickly.

"Don't stare." She said, visibly uncomfortable with the amount of time he had spent looking at her newest wound.

"I'm sorry." He said, shaking his head. "So what'll it be?" He asked her.

"Let's go to the cantina. I wanna see why Will and James never came to see me, the gits." She said, her eyes narrowing slightly. Charlie laughed and gestured for her to lead the way. They walked together, taking it slow so that Hermione didn't hurt herself even worse. They entered the cantina to find no line at the kitchen, everyone was already eating. They got there food, the leftovers that nobody had wanted. Hermione had apologized profusely as they walked over to where James and Will were sitting for being so slow that they missed getting the better food. Charlie just shrugged it off with a smile. He waited until she sat down at the table to take a seat just in case she needed help before taking his own. James and Will both stared at Hermione until she said anything.

"So, you better have a good reason for not coming to make sure I was still alive." She said, and both men grimaced.

"I didn't want to puke on you." James said simply. "Blood doesn't settle well with me." Hermione stared incredulously at him for a moment.

"How you became a Tamer is a question I fear I will never find the answer to." She said, shaking her head. She then turned and faced Will. "What about you then?" She asked him, and he turned bright red.

"Well.. I uh.." He stammered a bit and Hermione let out a sigh.

"Will?" She asked a little impatiently. Charlie laughed a bit before helping his friend out of the awkward situation.

"Poor Will here found out that the medi witch that was helping you was his ex. They didn't exactly end amicably. Trust me love, it's not you." Charlie explained, and Will nodded a bit in defeat. Hermione stared at him for a moment before laughing.

"You are both so ridiculous. Next time I get hurt, I expect both of you to come see me." She said, and they both nodded sheepishly. She then ate her meal while the men talked about everything that was happening at the reserve, she was just too tired to talk anymore. The pain killing potions she had been given when they discharged her made her extremely tired. After a bit, she looked at Charlie and waited for him to finish talking before catching his eye.

"Hey, I'm gonna head back to the cabin, you coming?" She asked, trying to sound nonchalant about the fact that they were sharing a cabin in front of the other two at the table.

"Yeah, let's go. See you lot in the morning." He said to James and Will, and they both waved goodbye before Charlie and Hermione started walking. She had the feeling that Charlie could tell she wasn't in the chatting mood, so he was silent as well. They walked in silence until Hermione stumbled and fell on the ground, her eyes drooping.

"Woah, hey are you okay?" She heard Charlie say, she felt extremely tired, too tired to walk apparently.

"Yeah, just really tired." She said, starting to stand up. Suddenly, she felt herself be scooped up, and knew that Charlie had just picked her up. "Hey, put me down. I'm not going to make you carry me all that way." She said, though she said it halfheartedly. She heard Charlie chuckle, and felt his chest move against her cheek.

"All that way? You really are tired, we're like three cabins away from ours." He said, but Hermione didn't respond. He looked down at her face, she had her head rested on his chest and it seemed as though she had fallen fast asleep. He looked up the steps at the door, he wasn't sure how he would open it without setting her down. He looked around and saw someone across the road.

"Oi, can you open this door? She's out cold and I don't want to wake her." He asked the man, who nodded and crossed the street without a word to open the door for him. "Cheers mate." Charlie said, and he walked into the cabin, using his heel to shut the door behind him.

He carried Hermione to her room and set her down gently on her bed, he slipped her shoes off of her feet and set them down by her bedroom door before taking one last glance at her, she looked so relaxed when she was asleep. He smiled and exited her room, shutting the door quietly behind him.


	10. Healing

A/N: So, I know that these chapters are short, and I'm sorry about that . I really do try to make them longer. JKR owns Harry Potter. Much Love- Bookworm

* * *

 **Healing**

Hermione was beyond excited to be getting back to work. It was her first day back, she had woken early in the morning, before Charlie. She showered and pulled on some new jeans that she had purchased just the day before, also pulling on a dragon hide vest that buttoned all the way to her throat. She pulled her hair back into a braid, trying to smooth the flyaway hairs to no avail. She was still trying to smooth her hair when Charlie woke up and found her staring at the mirror in the bathroom.

"Hey spitfire, what are you doing?" He asked, she looked over to find him leaning in the doorway to the bathroom, shirtless and holding a towel. Her eyes went straight to his bare skin, and found that he had Celtic knot tattoos on his chest that were obviously a tribute to his family roots. She also saw some dragons curving around his abdomen. Her mouth fell open slightly, surprised that he had tattoos given how much his mum disliked tattoos.

"Oh.. um nothing." She said, she pulled her eyes from him and ducked her head as she squeezed passed him to exit the room. "The bathroom is all yours." She muttered, blushing.

"Well thanks Spitfire." He said, nudging her gently with his elbow as she passed him.

"Course. I'll get my boots on, want me to meet you at the cantina or wait for you?" She asked him, glancing back at him. He was facing away from her, giving her a chance to observe that he also had some tattoos on his back.

"Oh, I think I'll meet you there." He said. He turned to face her, and she moved her eyes to his face. She nodded, and closed the bathroom door to give him some privacy.

She went to the front door and sat in the chair so that she could pull on her boots. As soon as she laced them, she left the cabin and walked alone to the cantina. She found James and Will easily, and the newest addition to their small group, an American named Jessie. Jessie had transferred from the Canadian Reserve, and had known Hermione instantly since he had been there when she was training.

"Hey boys." She said, sitting down with her food, it felt odd to not have Charlie next to her, they had been glued at the hip virtually all week since the night she hadn't been able to walk home by herself.

"Hey Hermione. Where's Charlie?" Asked Will, and Hermione glanced over at him. She took a bite of food before answering him.

"He had to shower, so he'll be along in a bit." She said, and Will nodded.

"You excited to be back to work?" James asked, raising her eyebrows at her.

"Yeah, very. Can't wait to see Aranyu." She said cheerfully. She saw James and Will glance at each other. She looked back and forth between them, something was going on. "Is something wrong?" She asked them. James stared at Will, who looked at her then looked relieved at something over her shoulder.

"Hey Charlie!" He said, as Charlie took his normal seat next to Hermione. Charlie just nodded, and Hermione looked over at him.

"Charlie?" She asked, he looked up at her and raised his eyebrows. "Why can't I see Aranyu?" She asked, and he stopped chewing for a moment before answering.

"We had to move her." He said slowly, and Hermione's fork clattered to the table.

"What? Why?!" She said, and Charlie set down his fork and turned his body to face hers.

"Hermione, after you got hurt, she was scheduled to be put inside some of the enclosures to interact with those dragons. Get her used to them before setting her in the field." He explained, and Hermione nodded though she still didn't see why they would need to move her. " Well, they put her in the enclosure of the dragon that had done this to you." He said, he lightly skimmed one finger on her thigh that had the new scars. She got goosebumps when he touched her. She shivered slightly before he continued.

"Anyway, they put her in that enclosure, and they got into a fight. Aranya instigated, we couldn't keep her in the same reserve as an older dragon she didn't get along with. We didn't want her to get hurt, so they transferred her a few days ago." He explained to her.

Hermione's head tilted down at this news, Aranya and her had a special bond, she didn't think something like this would happen. She looked at Charlie's large hand, it was resting on her thigh, then she looked back up at his face. He was gazing at her, looking worried.

"Hermione, I'm so sorry. I wasn't sure how to tell you, and the past couple days have been so crazy.. I forgot." He said softly. She looked up at him and smiled, it would do no good for her to be upset about it. She needed to focus on working hard, doing her job.

"It's fine Charlie, not a big deal. You excited to get to work today?" She said, turning her attention back to her food after she had summoned herself a clean fork. He looked surprised for a moment before pulling his hand off of her thigh and focusing on his own food.

"Yeah, should be interesting. We will take it easy today, see how you do. We need to gauge what you can do right now with you still healing." Charlie said, eating his breakfast while the other men around the table chatted away.

"Sounds like a plan." Hermione said simply.

"Okay good, let's do this." He said, pushing the rest of his food away and she followed suit.

They started the day off feeding their dragons, met with little difficulty. Their day went by without a hitch until they went to visit the baby dragons and one jumped onto Hermione. It clawed her leg that was already injured, and Hermione had to step out of the enclosure. Charlie came with her to check her leg, which was bleeding.

"Hermione, he didn't mean to." He said to her frantically. "He was just excited." He said, he went to touch her leg but she pulled away. He pulled his hand back and looked at her. "I'm just trying to help." He said softly.

"I know Charlie." She sighed. She looked down at her leg, and almost fainted. "Charlie… I think I've lost too much blood.." She said faintly.

Next thing Hermione knew, she was waking up in the infirmary. Again. Charlie was in the chair next to her cot. She sat up and looked over at him, he was sleeping, his head thrown back and his mouth open wide, snoring softly. She smiled then looked down at her leg.

The cut was completely healed, but when she looked around she noticed the potion next to her on the table. She read the label and realized that it was a blood replenishing potion, the cut on her leg must have been deeper than she thought.

"Charlie?" She said, and he moved slightly but didn't wake up. "Oi! Charlie?!" She raised her voice a bit and he finally woke up.

"Oh, hey there Spitfire. How ya feeling?" He asked, sitting up and focusing on her.

"I'm all good, good to go." She said, sliding off of the cot and standing up. He stood up and they were close to eyelevel. She stepped forward and tripped slightly over her own foot. Charlie reached out and caught her arm, steadying her. Hermione grabbed onto his arms, feeling the muscles he had built up over the years.

"You alright there Spitfire?" He said softly. She looked up at him and nodded.

"Yeah, good." She said, she felt like her stomach was in her throat. She stared at him for a moment, feeling blood rush to her cheeks before quickly taking her hands off of his arms. "We should get going. I'm starving." Hermione said, and Charlie nodded.

"Yeah, of course. Let's go." Charlie said, gesturing for her to go first. Hermione walked slightly ahead of him, her cheeks still bright red. She had no idea why she was feeling like this, why did she feel like her stomach was full of butterflies? She pondered this while they walked, and her thoughts ran to Ron, this was how she felt when she had feelings for Ron.

Hermione stopped walking, and Charlie bumped into her.

"Hermione, are you okay?" He asked, placing one hand on her back. She stared at him, not sure what to say. She had just realized that she had feelings for the man standing next to her.

"I.. Um.. Yeah I'm good. Let's go get some food." Hermione said. He smiled at her and nodded in agreement. They started walking again, the blush returning to her cheeks again, and butterflies returned to her stomach.


	11. Embers

A/N: I honestly think that this is the best chapter I have ever written. I love it so much, and I hope you all do too! JKR owns Harry Potter, of course. And i hope its clear this isn't canon. Love - Bookworm.

* * *

 **Embers**

Things were awkward in the house for the next few days. Hermione was cautious whenever Charlie was home, and she felt less inclined to go drinking with there friends when they had gone the night before. Instead, she had stayed home, writing a letter to Ginny.

Hermione knew, that out of everyone she knew, that Ginny would be able to do at least two things for her. One: Keep Hermione's feeling for Charlie to herself, whatever she decided those exact feelings were. And two: She would be able to give Hermione advice on what to do. Hermione wasn't sure exactly what her feelings were. She knew that she had them, but maybe it was just a temporary thing. She and Charlie were living in the same house after all. They could be attributed to him helping her when she was hurt, or to the fact that he seemed to care so much. She had a hard time with the letter to Ginny, since she wasn't exactly able to pinpoint what was happening. One thing she felt absolutely sure of; Charlie did not have feelings for her in any capacity.

Hermione had read the letter three times, debating whether or not she should actually name who she was having conflictions about. Currently, Charlie's name littered the page. She spent no less than five minutes just staring at his name before she shook her head. She should leave it. Ginny needed all the details. And Hermione knew that if she left out who it was, Ginny wouldn't hesitate to arrive on her doorstep the moment she could, demanding answers.

She decided to go back to being friendly with Charlie until she received a reply from Ginny, no need to complicate things more than they already were. Luckily, they had just gotten in a few more dragons at the reserve, so everyone was shouldering more work. She could relax when they worked, she needed to focus on her job. Not the Weasley man who was in the same enclosures with her all day. Charlie made sure to be extra cautious at work, Hermione didn't need to end up in the infirmary again. Hermione had noticed, and appreciated his efforts greatly. She was really tired of not being able to work.

She had to work hard to convince everyone that she really was okay. Avoiding Charlie after she had gotten hurt again had set people on edge. She had avoided eating with them, spending time with them, the only time she saw Will, James and Jessie were when she passed them in the halls or on the road. She had noticed that they had visibly relaxed once she started eating with them again, and Charlie had stopped being so angry whenever he got in.

Finally, a week after she had sent the letter to Ginny, Hermione received a reply:

 _Hermione,_

 _Charlie? We are talking about the same man here right? Long hair, dragon earing? Loads of scars? Well, at least someone sees him for the giant softy he is._

 _Here's my first bit of advice, do not tell mum. She will start planning your wedding without telling you. Trust me, just don't._

 _Second, how can you be so sure that he doesn't have feelings for you? I think you need to figure out if he does or not. You do know that you both are living the same life, right? You actually have the exact same life. Well besides the fact you are a girl and he's a guy._

 _Third, and I can't believe I have to tell you this, listen to your heart. I know, it sounds girly and gross. I want to vomit as I'm writing it, but you really need to. Go to the bar with him, have a few drinks, flirt._

 _Okay, I know you don't want to hear anything else, but I have to tell you one more thing. I know you so well Hermione. Maybe better than you know yourself. I know you have been overthinking and analyzing this, but don't. Just face it, you like my brother. Romantically. Don't try to play this off as some friendly thing, you and I both know better. Hermione, don't torture yourself. Please._

 _Much Love,_

 _Ginny_

Hermione rolled her eyes, it was just like Ginny to say that. It was just like Ginny to tell her what she felt, she really did know Hermione. She had been overthinking it, many of her spare moments were focused on her stomach and how it seemed to flop whenever Charlie was around. She would kick herself mentally every time she caught herself staring at Charlie, how he had a deep tan from being outside all the time, how his muscles moved like water, smooth.

She was doing that now, while she thought about the letter that was in her pocket. She found herself staring at Charlie's profile. She loved how when he smiled, he had deep dimples in his cheeks. He was the only Weasley child to have gotten them. As she thought about the letter, her mind went back to what Ginny had said about Charlie's long hair, and her eyes traveled along his face and to the hair that was pulled back and tied in a strip of leather. She liked his hair, it really emphasized how carefree he was. She smiled, and blushed furiously when Charlie turned to her.

"So how 'bout it?" He said, and she blanked. She hadn't been following the group's conversation at all.

"What?" She said, glancing around and noticing that everyone was looking at her.

"Are you okay? You look red." Charlie said, sounding concerned. She placed her hands on her cheeks to cool them off and nodded.

"Yeah I'm fine, what were we talking about though?" She asked, making everyone laugh.

"We were just discussing drinks?" Will said kindly, leaning toward her a little. "Would you want to come with? Or are you still claiming sobriety?" He joked, making her blush deeper than she already was.

"Yeah, of course I'll come with." She said, and James whooped.

"Finally, it was getting boring with just these prats." He said, and Hermione gave him a sympathetic smile.

"Oh, I'm so sure." She said, rolling her eyes at Charlie.

"Alright then, off we go!" Charlie announced, and everyone stood up at the same time. They began walking together, and Hermione noticed that Charlie fell into step next to her. She smiled to herself, deciding not to overthink it, just enjoy the night with her friends.

They went into Dragonsmeade and entered the pub, The Shining Scale. They all sat in the corner, at a booth that curved around a table. Hermione was in the middle of everyone, sandwiched between Will and Charlie, though she couldn't help but notice that Charlie had sat closer to her than Will had. She shook her head, this was her over analyzing things. They were friends, she had known him longer than anyone else around the table. He was her partner, it was natural for them to be close. She kept thinking of things to distract her, focusing more than usual on the story that Jessie was telling about his day. She was bored, but it kept her mind off of the heat that radiated from Charlie's knee touching hers.

"Finally." She sighed when James set down a large tray of drinks, she quickly grabbed one and downed it, making Jessie laugh. She eyed him before joining in on the laughter. Everyone followed her lead and downed their first drink quickly, then they each grabbed a second one. It wasn't long before Hermione began to feel the affects of the alcohol.

"You guys are my best friends." She said loudly, and everyone raised their glasses to her statement. "Especially you." She said softly, looking at Charlie, who glanced at her.

"Well of course Spitfire." He said, taking a gulp of his drink. They sat there, drinking, until last call and they all stood to go back to their cabins.

Hermione and Charlie entered their cabin, laughing because Charlie had just tripped on the stairs. Hermione went to her room and sat down on her bed, she was so happy that she had gone out tonight. She smiled, and flopped down on the bed, letting her feet rest on the ground. Maybe Ginny was right, she thought, she couldn't have fun if she was worrying all the time about what might or might not be happening between her and Charlie.

She heard a stumble and sat up, facing the doorway. Charlie was standing there, looking at her. He had a confused look on his face.

"Are you okay Charlie?" She asked, sobering up at the sight of her concerned friend. He looked worried, and that made her worry.

"Can I come in?" He asked, he seemed to be really focused on his speech. She took a deep breath and patted the bed next to her. He stumbled into the room and sat down heavily next to her. "I have a question for you." He said, looking at her.

"What is it?" She asked him, and he pushed himself up completely onto the bed and laid down. He looked at the ceiling, focused.

"Why did you choose here? You could have gone anywhere, but you chose here. Why?" He asked. She hadn't expected anything like this. She looked at him, thinking. She didn't know the answer off the top of her head. She was silent for a while, thinking about how to answer his question. Finally, she had it. She turned to him, and found him asleep. She sighed, she had thought too long. She stood, she didn't want him to be uncomfortable when he woke in the morning, she would stay in his room tonight. She walked to the door, then decided that she still wanted to give him her answer.

"You. I chose here for you." She said softly before exiting the room and closing her bedroom door behind her.


	12. Summer

A/N: Hope you enjoy the new chapter! Please leave a review! JKR owns Harry Potter.

* * *

 **Summer**

Hermione was beside herself with the news that Charlie brought her that day, the Hogwarts term was finishing up, and Charlie and herself had been granted a week off to go visit with the Weasleys. They would be leaving the following morning, getting there a day before Ginny got back, they had wanted to surprise her.

"Wait, whose covering for us?" Hermione asked, she wanted to make sure that their dragons were taken care of. Charlie looked up from the approved vacation requests that were in his hands.

"Well everyone is just going to tack one dragon onto their rotations." He said, giving her a shrug, she eyed him closely.

"What about Mariah?" She asked, she had a soft spot for the newest dragon they had taken on. So far the only people that she had let near her was Hermione, Charlie and Eric. She was a small greenish dragon, nobody had thought that she would be a problem, but she was a feisty one and would hide if anyone else went into her enclosure.

"Don't worry, Eric said that due to the circumstances he would watch her, she's in good hands." Charlie assured her, and she nodded.

"I'm so excited." She gushed, and Charlie smiled.

"Well I hope you aren't too excited to pack. Cause we are leaving early tomorrow, I want to get to the Burrow as soon as possible." He said, going to the closet and pulling out a duffel and tossed it to her. Hermione grinned and caught it. She then walked into her room, and opened up her dresser, tossing in what she would need. She tossed in a couple sweatshirts, she would probably need them in Britain. She was in the bathroom, grabbing some of her things when she heard Charlie yell something.

"What was that?" She asked, and heard a booming laugh. She felt her stomach do somersaults and she felt some blood rush to her cheeks.

"I said," He said as he rounded the corner to the bathroom and stood in the doorway. "We should head out, dinner bell just rang." He said, and she nodded.

"Let me just put this stuff in my bag?" She said, and he nodded.

"Yeah, no problem." He said, giving her a smile. She quickly looked away from him and squeezed past him to go to her room, she dropped her things unceremoniously into her bag and went to meet Charlie by the door. She pulled her hair back into an elastic while she waited for Charlie to pull his boots.

"Okay, all ready." Charlie said, slapping his knees and standing up.

Hermione smiled at him and opened the door, letting Charlie go first. He thanked her and made his way down the steps. They walked side by side to the Cantina, they looked around and Hermione noticed that none of the other guys that they usually ate with were there yet.

"We get first pick." She said, and Charlie laughed.

"Please, you know we're just going to sit at the same table. We may be a rowdy lot, but we need some semblance of sameness." He said, and she laughed.

"Not sure 'rowdy lot' quite covers it." She said as they got their food. They walked together to their table and took their normal seats next to each other. They started eating and after a few moment, Will and James sat next to each other, across from Charlie and Hermione.

"What are you all smiley about?" James asked Hermione, who was smiling still from excitement from going to the Burrow the next day.

"Our vacation request got approved." She said, and Will and James glanced between her and Charlie.

"Wait, 'our'? You are going on vacation together?" He asked, and Charlie nodded.

"Well yeah, Hermione has been staying holidays at our house for years now." Charlie explained. "She dated my little brother even." He said, and James' mouth fell open.

"Why have we never heard this?" He asked, his eyes wide.

"Really? I could've sworn we've talked about it before." Charlie said nonchalantly. James shook his head vigorously. Will just shrugged and continued to eat his dinner. James eyed them suspiciously until Hermione raised his eyebrows at him. He then looked down and ate his dinner in silence.

"So, you have any big plans for while you are back home?" Will asked, and Charlie grinned.

"Well my little sister is finishing up at school and she doesn't know that we are going to be there when she gets home." Charlie said, and Will nodded.

"That's really cool." He said, and James nodded in agreement. They finished up their dinner, just chatting a little.

"Well, we are getting up early, so we should probably get going so we can get some sleep." Hermione suggested, glancing at Charlie, who stood up. She followed suit and they said goodbye to the other men at the table.

They woke early the next morning, and made their way to the portkey location. They came upon a grungy looking pillow and they picked it up, holding it between them. Hermione locked eyes with Charlie, and she opened her mouth, about to spit out what she was thinking.

"Charlie.. I-" She was suddenly spinning quickly, the portkey was transporting them. She shut her eyes tight, ever since the World Cup her forth year, she hadn't been a fan of traveling by portkey. She heard Charlie call something, and opened her eyes to see him let go of the pillow, she gathered her Gryffindor courage and let the pillow slip out of her fingers. She felt herself fall before landing hard on the ground.

"Ugh…" She groaned, sitting up slowly. She heard a chuckle and she looked up, Charlie was standing over her holding out his hand.

"Hard land?" He asked and she looked at him pointedly before accepting his hand. He pulled her up to her feet and she kept a hold of his hand just a moment longer than she needed to. She liked that his hands were calloused from their work, they were rough but they also felt extremely comforting. She let go of his hand when she felt his squeeze hers a little.

She looked over at the building they had landed next to, the Burrow loomed over them. She let out a sigh, it had been a while since she had seen the rest of the Weasley's.

"Hey, you alright?" She heard from next to her, and she looked over at Charlie. He was watching her face, worried. She nodded slowly.

"You made sure to tell them that I was coming, right?" She asked him, she was going to write them to tell them but Charlie had told her that he would tell them.

"Well…" He said, looking up at the building in front of him.

"Charlie, you _did_ tell them, right?" She asked again, and he smiled at her.

"Must have slipped my mind." He said, and she felt her heart beat hard against her chest.

"Charlie, how could you not tell them?" She asked, her voice sounded a little shrill to her own ears.

"Hermione." He said, placing his hand on her lower back. "Don't worry about it, I just wanted to surprise them." He said, and she stared at him.

"Charlie, I didn't want to surprise them, I left quite suddenly. Ron and I had just ended things. It's not like it was on a fantastic note." She said, she took a step away from Charlie, facing him now instead of the Burrow.

"Hermione, I promise it will be okay." He said, they stared at each other for a moment. "Shall we go inside?" He asked, Hermione took a deep breath before nodding. She faced the house once more before walking to the door with Charlie, her nerves firing in all directions when he opened the door and stepped to the side to let her walk in first.


	13. Escape

A/N: I really love this story, I only found Charmione a couple months ago, and I immediately fell in love with this ship. Thank you for reading, please review! I'm open for ideas. JKR owns Harry Potter. -Bookworm

* * *

 **Escape**

She had been given the biggest hug from Molly when they had entered the house, and it had almost made her cry. Molly didn't say a word about how she had left, like she had thought she would. Molly had taken one look at her and insisted that she would make breakfast for the pair of newcomers, stating that she thought Hermione had lost weight. Soon enough, Molly was sitting at the table across form Charlie and Hermione.

"Charlie, you really should have said Hermione was coming, I would have fixed up the house a bit." She scolded her son, and Charlie grinned through his mouthful of toast.

"Sorry, mum." He managed to say without spraying food. It was something Hermione knew all the Weasley boys did, but most of them would have just sprayed chewed food all over the table.

"Charlie, how many times do I have to say it, don't speak with your mouth full?" She asked him and Hermione watched as he forced himself to swallow the food quickly before speaking again.

"Sorry, mum." He said again, and she nodded. "I must have forgotten to mention it in my letters." He said, and Hermione glared at him.

"Oh well, you know its not a bother for you to be here dear, we've missed you so much." Molly said to Hermione, and she gave her a small smile. "So, do you like work?" Molly asked, trying to spur on a conversation.

"I really do, Charlie is actually my partner, so it makes things easy." She said, and she saw Molly's mouth fall open.

"Partner?" She said, glancing at Charlie. "But he's seven years older than you.." She said softly. It took a moment for Hermione to understand what Molly was talking about. Charlie, it seemed, figured it out at the same time as Hermione.

"Mum, _work_ partners. We _work_ with the same dragons, share a cabin." He said quickly, and Molly immediately began to blush.

"Oh dear, I'm so sorry. Of course, work partners. I thought you lot worked alone though?" She asked, and Charlie glanced sideways at Hermione.

"Sorry Molly, I should have been clear. Um, apparently I'm a magnet for trouble. I got burned and now we work in pairs, less of a chance of dying that way." Hermione said easily, and Charlie nodded his agreement. Molly nodded in understanding then began to ask to Charlie about some people she had met at the reserve.

Hermione wasn't paying attention though, she was thinking about how Molly had reacted to thinking that Hermione and Charlie were a couple. Is this how everyone would react? Would it really be so bad? She sat there, slowly eating her breakfast until Charlie nudged her with his elbow.

"Hey Spitfire, you've been quiet." He said, Hermione looked around, and noticed that Molly wasn't at the table anymore.

"Where's your mum?" She asked, ignoring his comment. He stared at her for a moment before answering.

"Um.. She went to go fix up a room for you. The extra rooms means you'll have one to yourself." He said, and Hermione nodded. "Are you okay?" He asked, and she glanced at him.

"Yeah, of course Charlie, why wouldn't I be?" She asked, and gave him a smile. She grabbed their plates and took them to the sink, rinsing them off quickly. "Fancy some fresh air?" She asked, and he chuckled.

"Hermione, we work in fresh air, we have been inside for an hour and you already want to go back outside?" He asked, she thought about that for a moment before nodding.

"I think I'll grab my book and head to the creek." She said, going to the sitting room before he could say anything else. She opened her bag and started to rummage through it in search of her book. She had just found it and closed her bag up when she heard a throat clear from behind her. She closed her eyes, she knew she was going to be red when she turned to face him. She opened them again and stood up, turning as she did so.

"Hermione, are you going to tell me what's wrong?" Charlie asked, he had his arms crossed in front of him and had one eyebrow raised.

"Nothing Charlie, just a tad overwhelmed right now, I just want to go read." She said, hinting for him to move. He was blocking her way to leave out the back door. He let out a sigh and stepped to the side, letting her pass.

She rushed out of the house and to the creek. She got there and kicked her shoes off before stepping into the chilly water, her book clutched to her chest. She let the water rush silently over her feet, and tried to clear her head. She couldn't get the image of Molly thinking they were together out of her head. She sighed and sat down on the bank of the creek, trying to focus on the water. When that didn't work, she opened her book and started to read.

Of all the things that had changed about her since the war, this was one thing that she had held onto. Reading, her escape in both the Muggle and Magical worlds. She could lose herself so easily into a book, and spend hours immersed. This was what she did now, she read on the edge of the creek until she heard her name being called from the house behind her. She stood and glanced at her watch, it was about dinner time. She had bypassed lunch, and her stomach growled at her when she thought of food. She pulled her feet out of the water, they where white and she was sure the bottoms of her feet were wrinkled and pruned from being in the water for so long, and slid them into her shoes. She walked slowly up to the Burrow and into the kitchen, she immediately smelled the ham and potatoes that Molly had cooked, and sat down at the table.

"How was the book?" Charlie asked softly, nodding his head at the thick volume she had placed on the table.

"Good, I'm almost done with it." She said, smiling. Charlie smiled back at her and at that moment, dinner was served.

They stayed up late that night, talking with Arthur and Molly about their work. Arthur seemed much more interested in it than Molly, and Hermione noticed that Charlie added much more detail into stories when his dad was around. A while passed before Molly interrupted to tell them that they needed to get to bed.

"Arthur and I are going to Ginny's graduation in the morning, we really should be getting to bed." She said, and Charlie nodded.

"Of course mum." He said, standing to give her a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Hermione followed suit, minus the kiss. The two older Weasley's headed off to bed, leaving Charlie and Hermione downstairs.

Hermione sat back down in her chair and leaned back, relaxing. She looked over at Charlie and found that he was staring at her, and she tensed up.

"Okay, I've been trying to figure out what's wrong, and it would be so much easier if you just told me." He said, and she sighed.

"Charlie, I don't want to talk to you about it." She said, and he turned red.

"What's wrong with talking to me?" He asked, and she let out an exasperated sigh.

"Charlie, it's not that I don't want to talk to you about it, I do." She said softly.

"So talk to me." He said, and she shook her head.

"I need to talk to Ginny about it." She said, and he stared at her.

"Seriously? Hermione, we work together. We're partners. Hell, we live together. I need to be able to trust you, and you need to be able to trust me." He said. She stared at him, maybe she couldn't talk to him about her entire problem, but maybe just a part of it?

"Charlie, do you remember anything from the night that you crashed in my bed?" She asked, she watched him think before he shook his head slowly. "Well I do, I remember every second. You asked me why I chose Romania. You asked why I would stay there when you knew I had other options."

"I asked you that?" He said, taken aback. She nodded, and he let out a low breath. "Did I ever get an answer?" He asked softly. Hermione stood, she just wanted to tell him why she stayed, why was this so difficult.

"Yeah, I answered you Charlie." She said. He stared at her, his eyes seemed wide from where she was standing. "I stayed for you." She said, and she let out a breath. "You are why I chose Romania." She told him before turning away and walking up to Percy's old room where she would sleep.


	14. Confessions

A/N: I hope you like this chapter, a lot happens. As always, JKR owns HP. Enjoy! -Bookworm

* * *

 **Confessions**

Charlie had sat on the couch for a moment, in shock at what he had just heard, before standing and making his way up the stairs. He came to the room that Hermione was in, and he knocked on the door.

"Hermione… Can we talk?" He asked, he had no idea what he wanted to say, but he needed to know that he hadn't upset her by pushing her to tell him what had been going on.

"Charlie… I'm tired… Can we wait to talk?" He heard, the voice muffled. At those words, he felt an ache in his chest. He laid his forehead on the door, and let out a sigh.

"Of course… Sleep well Hermione. Sweet dreams." He muttered, before walking to his own room. He kicked off his pants and pulled off his shirt, leaving only his boxers, before laying down in his bed. He let out a frustrated sigh, why didn't she want to talk to him?

He knew that they had gotten close over these last couple months, they worked together after all. He knew that he had taken chances, placing his hand on her back, her leg. He couldn't help it though, he just wanted contact with her. Charlie had realized he had feelings for her a bit ago, after he had come back from The Burrow last time. He had been so relieved that she had stayed in Romania. He had wanted her to stay, to be with him in Romania. And now, he knew that she had stayed for him. He felt like an idiot, how many times had he woken up in the middle of the night and gone to make sure that she was still there, how many times had he reached for her hand when they were sitting, only to pull it back? And now he ruined everything.

Hermione was laying in her bed, all her Gryffindor courage spent. She couldn't bare to face Charlie after that, she needed to speak to Ginny. Ginny would be able to give her some advice, she was sure of it. She just wished that she was here now.

She hadn't been able to sleep very much last night, and now the sun was shining through the window in her room. Charlie had come again, maybe an hour ago to tell her that his parents had just left and would she like some breakfast? She had stayed silent, she didn't feel up to facing Charlie until she had the chance to speak with Ginny. She still had a few hours until the graduate got home, so Hermione pulled out a book to pass the time. It was actually a book that she had pulled from Charlie's shelves, the spine had the title "Flying with Dragons". She opened it, but only found that the book was a fake. It held a smaller book inside, and she gingerly pulled it out. She opened up to the first page and quickly discovered that it was Charlie's journal. She quickly placed it back inside the larger book and put it back into her bag, pulling out a different book instead. She laid it on her lap and began to read. A while later, she heard voices downstairs, multiple voices. She opened her door a little and heard Ginny's voice.

"Oh my god Charlie?!" She heard, and she heard something being said, but couldn't quite understand what it was.

"Percy's room? Why would you have left something in Percy's room?" Hermione heard, the voice was getting closer, Ginny was coming up the stairs. Hermione clicked the door shut and sat back down on the bed. She grinned as Ginny entered the room and saw her. The younger girl's mouth fell open and she tackled Hermione.

"Oh my god I'm so glad you're here, we have so much to talk about. How's work? You make loads of friends? Hook up with anyone? Have you told Charlie? Speaking of, why are you up here and not down with him?" Ginny asked, she stayed silent after the last question, and Hermione laughed.

"Okay, one at a time. Work is good, I love it. Yeah, I have some friends. And no I haven't hooked up with anyone." Hermione said, choosing to not answer the last two questions. Ginny glared at her.

"Spill." Was all she said, and Hermione sighed.

"I kinda told him last night maybe. We were talking, and I was in a mood because earlier your mum had misunderstood and thought that we were, you know, together together. I couldn't get her reaction out of my head, it wasn't great Gin, not great at all. Well he and I were talking last night and I told him that I chose Romania for him." Hermione finished, and Ginny continued to look at her.

"So… Why aren't you downstairs?" Ginny asked. "I mean, you guys talked about it after, right?" She said, and Hermione gave her a guilty look. "Oh god, you didn't?"

"I kind of just came up here and told him I didn't want to talk." Hermione said, and Ginny smacked herself on the forehead.

"Hermione…" Ginny sighed, and Hermione nodded.

"I know." She said softly.

"You need to talk to him." Her friend said gently, placing a hand on Hermione's knee.

"But Ginny… What if he doesn't feel like I do at all?" Hermione asked, and Ginny shrugged.

"At least then you would know, you wouldn't have to keep torturing yourself." Ginny said, and Hermione nodded slowly. "And you need to do it now." Ginny said with finality, and Hermione groaned.

"Do I really have to?" She asked, and Ginny stood, pulling her off of the bed.

"Hermione. Yes. You do. Right now." With the last words, Ginny gave Hermione a small push out of the room. They walked down to the living room together, where the other Weasley's were sitting. Hermione stood awkwardly, before catching Charlie's eye.

"Can I talkt to you?" She asked, and he nodded.

"Is everything alright dear?" Molly asked, watching Hermione.

"Oh yeah, it's just something about work." Hermione said, and Charlie led the way to the back yard.

"What is it?" He asked unenthusiastically.

"Not right here, mind if we walk a little?" Hermione asked, worried that someone would be able to overhear them. Charlie nodded and gestured for her to lead the way. It only took a couple minutes for them to reach the creek, where Hermione kicked off her shoes and let her feet in the water.

"So, what is it Hermione?" Charlie repeated himself, and Hermione turned to face him.

"I'm sorry about last night. You wanted to talk about it, and I didn't." She said, and he nodded, his features relaxing a bit. "I want to talk now." She said, and Charlie let out a breath and pulled his hands out of his pockets.

"Really?" He asked, and it was her turn to nod. "Well alright… Why did you say that you stayed because of me?" He asked, and she turned a bit red.

"Charlie, I see the way you work with our dragons, you are so passionate. I wanted to work with you because I know you, because we have gotten so close over these last few months. Because you make me so happy." She said, its not exactly how she felt about him, but she knew she needed to ease into that.

"Hermione, I'm so glad you chose Romania. For all of those same reasons, but you look like you aren't saying something that you need to." He said, he knew he was pushing her a little, but he needed to know where she stood with him.

"Charlie…" She started, she shut her eyes and let out a breath. "I'm scared." She said softly, and she was. She heard a small splash and opened her eyes, Charlie had joined her in the water.

"Hermione, you never have to be scared to tell me anything." He said, and she nodded, entranced by the fierceness and softness of his eyes in that moment.

"Okay.. Yesterday… when your mum thought that we were together?" She asked, and he nodded. She could feel her heart start to race. "Her reaction… It bothered me." She said, and he tilted his head.

"Why?" He asked gently, he could feel his heart pumping, he felt like his stomach was in his throat.

"I want something with you Charlie." Hermione finally said, and then there was silence. She was focused on Charlie, how his mouth opened slightly. She could see him take a swift breath, his chest rise and fall rapidly. It was as though the world around them had stopped.

"You do?" She heard him finally say, and the world suddenly started again, the creek on their feet trickling by, the wind brushing the trees.

"Yeah, I do Charlie, I just needed you to know where I stood, and if you don't feel the same, that's fine. And you don't even have to say anything." She said, but she hoped that he would.

"Hermione…" He wanted to tell her that he wanted- needed something with her. He wanted to tell her that he felt things for her that he hadn't felt for anyone before. But suddenly, the picture of his mother yesterday was in his head, her shock and worry about the pair of them. "I'm so sorry Hermione, I think I need some time to think this over." He said.

"Of course." Hermione said softly, turning on her heel and walking up the path back to the house. Her eyes were filled with tears. She knew that she should have just let it be. She entered the kitchen and grabbed a glass for some water.

"Hermione?" She heard a soft voice say from behind her, Ginny.

"He said he needed time to think." Hermione said, turning to face her best friend, who looked pained.

"Git." She said sympathetically. Hermione laughed and shook her head.

"No, he just needs some time." She said, and Ginny shrugged.

"You going to be alright?" Ginny asked, and Hermione nodded.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." She said, and the pair walked back into the sitting room.


	15. Kindle

**Kindle**

He stood in the creek, not sure what to do. Hermione had just walked away, he had just her that he needed to think. All this time that he had fancied Hermione, he had never thought about the age gap until now. And it did bother him, he didn't want people to think that he was some sort of pervert. And he wasn't sure how it would affect them at work. He would need to look over the manual, he was sure it would cover workplace relationships. He stuck his hands in his pockets and stepped out of the water. He felt so guilty for pulling how she felt out, but then telling her that he needed time to think.

He let out a harsh breath and slid his feet back into his shoes. He needed to talk to someone, he just wasn't sure who. Then it occurred to him, Bill. Bill had always listened to Charlie without judgement. He quickly made his way back to the house and into the living room, where he found his parents tidying up the room.

"Mum, I want to go see Bill, he's at the cottage, right?" He asked, and his mother gave him a nod. He waved before apparating to the cottage, immediately feeling the difference in the air. He took a deep breath in, smelling the salt that hung heavy in the ocean next to the cottage. He made his way up the walkway that led to the front door, and knocked when he reached it. The door opened after just a moment to reveal his sister-in-law.

"Charlie?" She asked incredulously. He gave her a grin.

"Nice to see you Fleur. Is my brother home?" He asked, and she nodded before opening the door wider to let him in. They chatted some while she led him to the back of the house, where he knew Bill's study was. She held up a finger and he cut off his sentence.

"Bill?" She asked, and they heard him reply.

"Yes dear? What is it?" They heard through the door, and Fleur smiled a little.

"Your brother, Charlie? 'Ee is 'ere." She said, and they heard a small thump before the door swung open.

"What in the bloody hell are you doing here?" Bill asked, a grin splayed across his face. He pulled Charlie into a hug and he heard Fleur walk off down the hall to a crying baby,

"I need your help Bill." Charlie said, and Bill released him and stepped aside to let him into the study. Charlie noticed that there was a desk filled with papers on the wall, that must have been what Bill was working on. Charlie heard the door close, and turned to face his brother.

"What is it Charlie?" Bill asked, his face now serious.

"I need some advice." Charlie said, and Bill sat in an armchair and gestured for Charlie to sit in the other, which he did.

"About?" Bill asked, raising his eyebrows. Charlie took a deep breath before diving into what was bothering him.

"I fancy Hermione." He stated, and Bill's mouth fell open, but before he could say anything, Charlie continued to speak. "Not only that, she just told me that she fancies me, that she wants something with me. But Bill, yesterday mum thought that we were together, and she was shocked because of our ages. Seven years, seven Bill. How in all hells could I have fallen for a girl seven years younger than me? Even if we did start something up, what about work? Bloody hell, what about mum? She looked as though she would die from shock when she thought that yesterday. Bill, I don't know what to do." Charlie said, placing his head into his hands. He heard Bill let out a long breath, then there was silence. It wasn't until he raised his head that Bill began to speak.

"First, if you fancy Hermione and don't want the age to bother you, don't think of her as a girl anymore. She is a woman Charlie, one that tames dragons. And it's not so bad, Fleur is six years younger than me, did anyone see anything wrong with that?" He asked Charlie, who gave him a dubious look. "Except mum of course, but it wasn't the age difference that she was concerned about. Charlie… If you have fallen for Hermione, I think that you should go for it. I think you have been alone for too long. As for work, I honestly don't know. I don't know what the policy for your line of work is, you would have to figure that out. Look, there's only one thing. One thing that will make you give up on everything you knew. Every instinct and rational thought. Love. And if you love that girl, you will go for it. But if you don't think it's worth it, if you don't know that she will be worth every heartache and obstacle, you owe it to her, and yourself, to let it go. Ultimately, it's up to you, and only you know how you feel about her."

Charlie stared at Bill, unsure what to say after that heartfelt monologue. Bill gave him a smile and turned back to his desk, picking up some of the papers and shuffling through them. Charlie stood after a moment, he should get back to the Burrow.

"Thanks Bill." He managed to say.

"Anytime." Bill said, engrossed in a paper. Charlie grinned before apparating back to his home. He quickly made his way upstairs to his room, he knew that he had a manual around here somewhere. He began to rummage through his things, occasionally tossing things out of the way, creating a heap of rubbish on the floor. He finally found what he was looking for, under his bed. He opened up the pages of the manual and began to scan over them. He found what page relationships was on, and flipped to it haphazardly. He read over the page quickly, there wasn't much to read.

 **Office Relationships:**

 **Relationships are in no way discouraged. There are only a few guidelines that are required to be followed:**

 **This relationship must not negatively impact your work. The animals must come first, aside from our Trainer's safety.**

 **If it is found that the animals have been negatively impacted by a relationship in any way, the pair will be notified and it is up to them to rectify the situation.**

 **Couples may work together as partners if it will not affect their work.**

 **Relationship problems have no place with our dragons, if it is found to be difficult to keep the problems separate, it is up to the couple to rectify the situation.**

 **If the problems are not rectified, the Head Dragon Keeper may intervene at their own discretion.**

 **Couples must disclose any relationship to their Head Dragon Keeper.**

Charlie was grinning, it was a relief to know that if he chose to pursue this, that it was allowed at work. He didn't want to have either of them chose between a relationship and work. He was still grinning when Ginny walked into his room, without knocking. She took a look around at the mess before crossing her arms and staring daggers at her favorite brother.

"Explain." Was all she said, and Charlie let out a sigh. Of course Hermione had told her, she told Ginny everything.

"Look Gin, I just needed to figure some things out." He said, closing the manual in his lap. He tapped the cover with his finger. "This was one of them." He said, and realization dawned in her eyes.

"So…?" She asked, worried what the answer might be.

"We can." He said, and she thrust a fist into the air in glee. "Gin, we can." He said, grinning.

"Well what are you still doing sitting here then? Go get that woman." Ginny said to him, enthusiastically. Charlie bit his lip and looked down at the manual.

"Is it worth it?" He mumbled, and his shoulders fell. Ginny came and sat next to him on the bed.

"Charlie…" She said softly, thinking about what she should say. "Would you like some advice?" She asked, and he nodded. "I think… you know that she's worth it if you would tear down anyone that hurt her. If your heart aches when she is sad, if you would do anything to make her happy again. If she asked you to leave, and never come back, would you do it? Just to please her. If she fell in love, would you let her be with them, just to see her smile?" She directed this question to him, expecting an answer. He thought for a moment. His heart ached when he pictured it, but he knew that if it made her happy, he wouldn't stand in her way.

"I just want her to have everything." He said softly, making Ginny smile.

"I think you have your answer." She said, standing and walking out of the room. It was silent for a moment, Charlie just staring at the doorframe.

"She is worth it." He said, breaking the silence. He then stood and walked across the hall to the door of the room she was in. He knocked gently, and heard her speak.

"Come in." She said, he opened the door to find her laying on her bed, reading. When she noticed it was Charlie, she quickly sat the book down and stood, wringing her hands. "Hi Cha-"

"You are worth it." He said, cutting her off. He walked as he spoke, until he was standing directly in front of her. "You are worth everything." He said softly, he was looking down into her brown eyes, and his eyes trailed to her lips, which were parted slightly.

"Charlie, are you sure?" She whispered, and he nodded, not trusting himself to speak. She smiled and that was it for him.

The kiss was everything that he hoped it would be, and more. He held her close to him, drowning in the feel of her soft lips against his chapped ones. She clutched onto his arms, and he reveled in the fact that she was kissing him back. It felt frantic, but not rushed. Just that they had been holding off for too long. They pulled apart far too soon, and Hermione kept her arms around his waist.

"I just need to know, you are up for this?" Charlie asked, his voice gruff.

"Yes Charlie. Of course I am." She said, giving him a smile before releasing his waist. He grinned at her, making her blush.

"We have to disclose this to Eric." Charlie said, and Hermione nodded in understanding. "And mum." He added, and at that statement, Hermione paled a little.

"Do we really have to do that now?" She asked him, and he chuckled.

"Not if you don't want to yet." Charlie said, and she smiled in thanks.

"Okay Charlie." She said softly.

"So we're doing this." He stated, and she nodded.

"We're doing this." She affirmed, and smiled at him. He grinned and kissed her gently.

"About time." He said, making her laugh.

* * *

A/N: Channeled my inner Jim Halpert on that one with Bill's speech to Charlie. JKR owns Harry Potter. Love- Bookworm


	16. Freefall

A/N: So this one does have some minor cursing, not too bad though. I hope you like this new chapter, I'm loving it. R&R! Thank you , everyone who has been following this story! Much love- Bookworm

* * *

 **Freefall**

After another chaste kiss, they sat down on Hermione's bed, facing each other. They were silent for a moment, Hermione was blushing and looking down at the bedspread under them.

"So, can I ask why you don't want to tell mum?" Charlie asked her. "You know that she will be thrilled after the initial shock." He said, and after thinking for a moment, Hermione nodded.

"Yeah… But I think I just want it to be kept between us right now… If that's okay?" Hermione asked, and Charlie nodded.

"Sure. But Ginny and Bill both know." He said, and her head snapped up, one eyebrow raised. Charlie shrugged slightly. "I needed advice." He said, making Hermione laugh.

"So, it'll be fine at work though?" Hermione asked him, and he nodded. She nodded back and took a deep breath. "Well, we should get downstairs, I'm sure Molly will want some help with dinner." Hermione said, standing up from the bed, and Charlie followed suit.

They exited the room to find Ginny sitting on the steps, she appeared to be waiting for them. She jumped up, and looked between them. Hermione grinned at her and grabbed Charlie's hand. Ginny opened her mouth, ready to yell in excitement, and Hermione clamped her hand over it.

"Shush it." Hermione said, eyeing her best friend, who raised an eyebrow. "We aren't going to tell everyone right now." She said, and Ginny moved her eyes to Charlie, who nodded, before Hermione removed her hand.

"Why not?" Ginny asked Hermione.

"Just don't want to." She said, and Ginny seemed to have an internal struggle before shrugging.

"Okay fine." She said, letting out a sigh. She turned and walked down the stairs, Hermione and Charlie following her. They got to the bottom of the stairs and Charlie gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before joining Arthur and Molly.

"Hey mum, do you need any help making dinner?" They heard Ginny ask.

"Oh that would be wonderful, do you know where Hermione and Charlie are?" They heard Molly ask, and they stepped into the living room.

"Oh good timing dears, Hermione would you help Ginny and I with dinner?" Molly asked, and Hermione nodded. The women went into the kitchen and started on dinner.

Charlie sat down in the living room and grabbed a book from a side table. He opened it and started to read it, after a moment he felt eyes on him and looked up. His father was staring at him, when Charlie met his gaze, he raised his eyebrows. Charlie returned the look and his father's lips twitched into a knowing smile before Charlie returned back to his book.

About an hour later, dinner was ready and everyone sat down around the table. Charlie sat himself casually next to Hermione, and as they ate he placed him hand on her knee under the table. She jumped slightly at the contact, and Molly looked at her with concern.

"Are you okay dear?" She asked Hermione, who stared down at her plate before answering.

"Oh yeah, I'm fine." She said. Appeased, Molly focused back onto her dinner. Hermione slowly turned her head to look at Charlie, who was visibly holding In laughter. She shook her head and went back to her dinner.

* * *

Their week passed by too fast, and before they knew it, they were saying goodbye to the Weasleys and Harry, who had come to visit them when he was able to get a day off from work. Hermione and Charlie had their arms laden with food from Molly, and were giving everyone hugs before they headed back to Romania.

"You both makes sure to stay safe, and make sure to write!" Molly said, waving at them as they started to climb up the hill to their portkey.

"Bye Mum! Love you!" Charlie said, waving as they reached their portkey. They each grabbed it and held on as it began to glow. Hermione gripped it tightly as it began to spin, and a short moment later, she let go. She landed hard, stumbling a bit before being caught by Charlie, who seemed to have a knack for landing graciously after portkeys.

"Thank you." She said, looking up at the large man. He smiled at her before they walked together through the entrance to the reserve. They made their way to the cabins, and Hermione sighed with relief once they entered theirs. They put away all the food they carried, and set down their bags before turning to face one another.

"We should go find Eric." Charlie said, and Hermione nodded. It would be better to do this sooner rather than later. Charlie glanced at his watch and thought for a moment. "He'll probably just be in his office, so we should check there first." Charlie said, offering his hand to Hermione. She took it and they exited the cabin together. Hermione expected to see people as they walked, but they didn't run into a single soul, which Hermione thought was odd.

"Charlie, where is everyone?" Hermione asked, and Charlie looked around.

"Huh… Yeah, now that I think about it…" He said as they walked, he had a thoughtful look set on his face, then realization dawned. "Someone must have escaped." He said softly, looking up. Hermione followed his gaze, and saw dozens of small shapes flying in the sky.

"What do you mean Charlie?" She asked. "Are those tamers?" She asked, and Charlie nodded.

"Sick dragon must have gotten out, we need to get up there to help." He said, pointing up, and Hermione nodded. Luckily, they had both dressed in their work attire that morning, so they made a beeline for the emergency broom shed. There was a limited number of brooms left, all the same outdated models. Hermione shrugged and grabbed one. She and Charlie each mounted one, and she took a deep breath before kicking off of the ground. She hated flying, she really did, she thought as they rose in the air to meet their coworkers. They joined the throng of tamers in the sky, flying in all directions. Charlie caught sight of Will, and called out to him. Will heard him, and flew over to the pair.

"Hey mate, Hermione." He said, nodding to both of them before scanning the ground with his eyes.

"Mate, who got out?" Charlie asked, and Will looked at them before answering.

"Mariah." Will said, and Hermione looked at Charlie, fear in her eyes.

"Where's Eric?" She asked, knowing that if anyone knew how to find Mariah, it would be Eric. Will gave her a confused glance before answering.

"Umm… I think he went to the Falls." He said. Charlie nodded quickly.

"Anyone with him?" Charlie asked, and Will nodded.

"Jessie." He said, and Hermione shook her head.

"Charlie we need to get there, now." She said, and Charlie nodded in agreement.

"Will, let us know if anyone sees her on this side, but don't go after her." He said, and with that he and Hermione sped off. They flew for only a few moments before seeing the two figures they were looking for. Charlie stopped next to Eric, who looked irritated, and Hermione flew up next to Jessie, holding her broom tightly after she glanced down to see how far up they were.

"Jessie. Go to the group, we have this here." She said, her voice shaking a little. She sighed with relief when he flew away. She turned to join Charlie and Eric, and stuck her eyes to the ground. Eric had been right, this would be the place they would find her, she felt it.

"'Appy to see the two of you." He said gruffly. "Kid was annoying." He said, and Charlie chuckled. They sat in silence for a moment, scanning the ground before Hermione sighed, frustrated.

"We need to get lower." She said, she dipped down before either man was able to say anything. She continued until she was skimming the tree tops. The men quickly followed, and she heard them saying something, but she chose not to listen. Instead, she focused on the ground. Finally, she saw a shimmer.

"Hey!" She called behind her, and the men quickly joined her, she pointed at what she saw, and Charlie nodded. "We need to get her in the sky, everyone else needs to get out of it." She said, and this time it was Eric who nodded.

"I'll go." He said. He made sure Charlie and her knew he would be back as soon as possible before he flew away.

Hermione slowly made her way to the ground and touched down a bit away from her dragon.

"Hey Mariah, sweetheart." She said gently as she walked to her. The dragon raised her head from the water she had it in, and as she saw Hermione and Charlie, she exited the pool. "Hey there beautiful. It's just us. We wanna get you back, is that okay?" Hermione said, Mariah seemed to like the sound of her voice, so Hermione just continued to speak. "Think you've had a good swim, don't you?" She asked, finally coming up next to the dragon, Charlie was standing right next to her. They waited a few moments, just talking to her, until Eric came back.

"Okay, let's get the lassie back home shall we?" Eric said, his voice different, more soothing when he was near Mariah. Hermione and Charlie summoned their brooms, and kicked off the ground. They slowly rose into the sky, and Mariah followed them. They picked up the pace and started to lead her back to the enclosure when they saw another person in the air.

"Bloody hell." Hermione got out before Mariah noticed the new addition, she roared, and Hermione clamped her hands over here ears. This was a bad decision, as Mariah chose that moment to pump her wings, causing Hermione to fall off of her broom. She fell, screaming. She knew that any moment, she would hit the ground, she was terrified. She shut her eyes tight, and suddenly something hit her from the side, too soft to be the ground. She opened her eyes to see another tamer, she instinctively knew that it was the one that had been in the sky. She didn't recognize him, he must be new. She regained her bearings as they touched back on the ground, and she stood, her knees shaking.

"What were you doing up there?" She yelled, and he flinched.

"Jus' wanted to make sure you all got back alright." She heard him say, and she shook her head.

"We had it under control, Eric says to get out of the bloody sky, _you get out of the damn sky_!" She screamed, making the man flinch.

"I just thought-" He started.

"No, obviously you weren't thinking! Is this your first bloody day?" She asked him, and he shook his head. "Then you know that these are dangerous creatures and when you are given an order, you better follow it! I could have died!" She said, he seemed to cower slightly at her raised voice.

This was the scene that Eric and Charlie happened upon fifteen minutes later, Hermione yelling at the man still, her voice hoarse. Charlie walked up to her and placed his hand on the small of her back.

"Love, I think he gets it." He muttered, and Hermione faced him, sighing with relief. "Are you okay?" He asked her, and she nodded. She looked at him, eyes questioning him silently. He nodded, they had gotten Mariah back into her enclosure. He glanced at the man that Hermione had been yelling at. "Did you at least thank the poor man for catching you?" He asked, and she looked guilty for a moment before turning back to the scared looking man.

"Thank you for catching me." She said, and he nodded fast. Eric said a few words to the newest person before turning back to Charlie and Hermione.

"Glad you two are back." He said with a sideways grin. "An if tha' didn' scare the lad, I would be surprised." He said, shaking his head.

"Sorry Eric." Hermione muttered, and Eric shook his head.

"No worries lass, he shouldn' 'ave been up there." He said. Hermione grinned and wrapped her arms around Charlie, glad that they were both alive. Eric eyed them suspiciously before laughing. "Figured it out, 'ave ya?" He said, and Charlie nodded. Eric nodded then walked away, leaving them alone.


	17. Burst

A/N: Okay everyone! I'm baaaack! This chapter is not that great, I had one typed and it was good but then it got deleted, so I rewrote, and of course it didn't come out the same as it was before. Anyway, I hope you enjoy, R&R! Love- Bookworm

A/N: Okay, I revised. A LOT. I realize that it wasn't that good before, so here is the updated version. I like it so much more.

* * *

 **Burst**

Charlie and Hermione had been having an on going conversation about whether or not to tell his family. Everyone had accepted it at work with no questions asked. They kept everything professional while at work, not letting it affect their dragons, so that helped people accept it. They let loose a bit while they were off, when they went out with their friends. They were teased mercilessly, but they accepted it with smiles. Hermione was worried about how his family would react though, and continued to stand by not telling them.

Charlie wanted to tell his family, they had been together for over a month now, and he felt like it was time. He felt ready to introduce Hermione as his girlfriend, he wanted everyone to know what she was to him, and what he was to her. Hermione, on the other hand, was still adamant on keeping what they were from his family. Their conversation went the same way every time.

"Why not though, Hermione I think we should tell them." Charlie would say. At that point, Hermione would cross her arms and let out a sigh.

"Charlie, I just don't think it's a good idea. We've been over this before." She would say, and Charlie would let it go and continue with whatever he had been doing before the conversation arose.

This time however, things went a different way. Charlie decided to not just let it go. He needed his family to know. There was a family visit coming up next week, and he wasn't willing to hide what they were in front of them again. When they had first started up, it was fine. But Charlie felt something different with Hermione, it felt more serious than past relationships.

"Yes, we've been over this, but I really do think we need to tell them." Charlie said.

"Charlie, what's wrong with what we are doing now?" Hermione asked, and Charlie shook his head. He knelt down, making himself level with where she sat on her bed.

"Hermione." He said softly, taking her hands into his. "This isn't healthy for us." He said, and he watched her as she bit her lip. "Hermione, I understand that you were nervous about the age making people, mostly mum, not like this." He said, gesturing in between them. "I was too." He admitted, and her eyes flicked up to his, surprised. "But Hermione, everyone here is fine with it. If my family has a problem with it.." He paused, thinking. "Well then, that's their problem, not ours." He told her, and she smiled a little. "Please Hermione, let's tell them?" He asked softly. She nodded slowly, and he grinned. He grabbed her cheeks and kissed her full on the lips, making her laugh a little.

"You said that they were coming here next week, correct?" Hermione asked when he released her face. He nodded in answer, his hair falling in front of his face a little. Hermione reached forward and brushed the long strands back into the rest of the red mass.

"Yeah, are you okay with telling them then?" Charlie asked, leaning his cheek into her hand a little, and Hermione nodded.

"Yeah, let's tell them then." She said, and he grinned hugely.

"Ginny's gonna be thrilled." Charlie said after a short silence, and Hermione laughed.

"Yeah she is, she's been keeping this to herself for a while now, I'm sure she's ready to blow." Hermione said, and Charlie nodded in agreement.

They decided to go to dinner in Dragonsmeade, away from their friends, as a sort of date night. They walked hand in hand together to the bar, and ordered themselves some food. It only took about an hour for Will and James to find them as they always did when they had a night to themselves. They slid into the booth that Hermione and Charlie were sitting at, and since they knew that the boys would show up, they had drinks ready for them. James grabbed his first and took a long swig. Charlie glanced at him and let out a knowing sigh.

"Your family not coming for the weekend again?" Charlie asked, and James grunted darkly before taking another swig. Charlie raised his pint and gave a nod to James. Will and Hermione followed suit and they all took a drink.

"What about you Hermione, your family coming?" Will asked her, and she set her drink down and cleared her throat. Charlie glanced at her and grabbed her hand.

"Hermione is actually Muggleborn, so her family wouldn't be able to get on the reserve." He said, knowing that wasn't the full reason. They had talked about bringing Hermione's family back but Hermione told him that she already had gone but had changed her mind when she had seen how happy they were. They didn't know about magic, anything about the world that was in theirs. Hermione knew they had struggled with their daughter being in a different world, so she had let them be, in their new life. Will's mouth fell open in surprise.

"How did we not know that?" Will asked in shock, staring at Hermione with wide eyes. Hermione shrugged and drank some of her beer, trying to get the thought of her parents out of her head.

"Well, now you're even more impressive. I can see why Charlie likes you so much. If I had known that, I probably would have gone after you myself" James chimed in giving her a playful wink, and Hermione blushed slightly. Charlie chuckled and kissed her temple before motioning for the bartender to bring them another round of drinks.

"Don't listen to him love, everyone knows he already has his heart set on a girl back in London." Charlie said, grinning at their friend across the table. James grinned at him.

"Right you are mate, right you are." He said, taking a drink from his glass.

They decided to drink heavily that night, as tomorrow was their team's day off, someone would cover them tomorrow, and they would work extra the day after to cover for that team. They toasted the most outrageous things, until they were all pissed. Hermione and Charlie leaned on each other, stumbling their way back to their cabin. James and Will followed them, their cabin was a bit away, and when they reached Hermione's and Charlie's cabin, they just followed the couple into their cabin.

"You lot can sleep in there." She said, waving her arm in the direction of her room, they stumbled into the room and Hermione led the Charlie into his room. Hermione turned to Charlie and quickly pulled off her clothes. She watched Charlie closely, he was staring at her, his eyes running over her. He slowly stepped over to her and pulled her close to him, his hands on her shoulders. He took a shaky breath before kissing her gently on the forehead.

"Lets go to bed love." He said, reaching behind her and grabbing a shirt from his dresser. He gently pressed it into her hand. She glanced down at it, then back at him before turning away and quickly pulling the shirt on. She crawled onto the bed, embarrassed, and turned away from Charlie. He laid down next to her and put a hand gingerly on her shoulder. She turned slightly to face him before she spoke.

"Charlie, why not?" She said softly, he was silent for a moment before he replied.

"Love, it's not that I don't want to, I do." His voice sounded husky when he spoke. "But we haven't been together long enough, we are both smashed, it's a bad idea." He said. "You, the smartest witch alive, you know that it's not a good idea right now." He said gently, kissing her cheek gently. She nodded with a sigh and he pulled her close to him. She tucked her head into his chest, and just a few short moments later, they were both fast asleep.

Knocking, that's what woke Hermione up in the morning, and it was persistent. She groaned and turned into Charlie.

"Char, someone's at the door." She muttered, pushing his shoulder, and the sleeping man just snored in response. She let out an annoyed sigh and climbed over her boyfriend. She got to the bedroom door before realizing that she wasn't wearing pants. She looked at the floor and caught sight of a pair of Charlie's shorts, she grabbed them and pulled them on before walking quickly to the door. The person was knocking again, and she threw open the door, irritated.

"What in-" she started before realizing who was at the door. Molly Weasley. Her mouth fell open, and she was suddenly extremely conscious of what she was wearing. Charlie had given her an old Quidditch jersey to wear, and she had grabbed Charlie's shorts that had his initials down the side. She grabbed the hem of her shirt, why did she have to be wearing this right now? She kicked herself mentally for getting drunk last night. She noticed that at the sudden movement caught Molly's attention, and she kicked herself again, why was she just standing there?

"Molly, please come in." She said, and she led her to the kitchen table. "This is quite a surprise... Um… let me go get changed and wake Charlie up." She said, and Molly smiled tersely at her.

"Of course dear." She said. Hermione smiled at her nervously before walking quickly to Charlie's room. She opened the door and closed it behind her. She took a deep breath before taking the couple steps to where Charlie was sleeping.

"Charlie." She hissed, pulling his clothes off and replacing them with her own. "Charlie." She said, shaking his shoulder. He grunted and she let out a sigh. "Charles Weasley." She said, lightly smacking his shoulder, and he startled awake. "Finally." She sighed.

"Hermione, why are you up? We don't work today." He muttered.

"I know we don't work today. Your mum is here." She said, and he sat upright, fully awake.

"What?" He asked, looking around the room in a panic.

"Yeah." She nodded frantically, her eyes open wide. "Yeah, and I just opened the door wearing your clothes." She said, pointing in the direction of the door.

"What is she doing here?" He whispered, and Hermione shrugged.

"How am I supposed to know that?" She said. "Look, I'm gonna go back out there, get the other boys up." She explained, and Charlie nodded as he stood up. She took a deep breath and walked out of the room, and into the next one. She quickly shook the boys awake. "Hey, wake up. Now. Charlie's mum is here." She said, they immediately understood and got up. They rushed out of the room and she took a moment to gather herself before following suit. By the time she left her room, the three other men were in the kitchen chatting with Molly. Hermione busied herself with making some tea, and by the time she was done, Molly had been introduced to Will and James. They were all chatting when she set down the tea, and Molly seemed to very much like the other two men.

"So, mum." Charlie said after Hermione had set out the tea. Molly turned her attention to her son and gave him a smile.

"Yes dear?" She asked.

"Well not to be rude, but why are you here? We weren't expecting you until next week." He asked her gently, and she smiled.

"Well, I just thought I would get here before everyone else, spend some time with you and Hermione." She said, as she said Hermione's name, she shifted her gaze to her, and Hermione shifted uncomfortably.

"Oh, well alright then. Do you have a place to stay?" Charlie asked, and Hermione let out a breath and took a drink of her tea.

"Well, I was going to stay in that nice little inn that's in Dragonsmeade." She said, taking a sip of her tea. Charlie nodded.

"Yeah, you guys stayed there last time, right?" He said, and she nodded. "It's a nice little place." He said.

"Yes, it is." Molly said, then cleared her throat. Everyone's eyes went to her, sensing that she wasn't finished talking. "But, seeing as you both are sharing a room, I don't see why I can't stay here." She said, and Hermione choked on her tea. Will turned to face James, and they both stood at the same time.

"We should go." They said at the same time, and after saying a quick goodbye, they walked out of the cabin. Hermione glared at them as they left, and let out a sigh as the door closed behind them.

She slowly let her eyes go back to Molly, who was looking back and forth between Hermione and Charlie, her brow raised.

"We were going to tell you." Charlie said, and Hermione glanced at him, nervous. This was it.


	18. Explosion

A/N: A new chapter in like two days, might be a record. Anyway, hope you enjoy! R&R? Maybe :) Much Love- Bookworm

* * *

 **Explosion**

Hermione watched as Molly calmly set down her tea cup. It was quiet enough that you could probably hear a pin drop from a different room. Molly raised her eyes to look at the couple across from them. Hermione bit her lip, nervous about what was to come. Charlie waited a moment before deciding that he would break the silence first.

"Mum, please try to understand our situation. We really were planning on telling you." He said, glancing over at Hermione. He then turned his gaze over to his mum, who was staring at her son blankly. She then took a deep breath, and Hermione matched it, trying to calm her nerves.

"Why didn't you tell me before Charles?" She asked, and her son cringed a little at her use of his given name. Molly had a storm brewing behind her eyes, Hermione could tell that she didn't like this situation at all.

"Mum… when were we supposed to have told you?" Charlie asked her, and she scowled at him.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe when you were at the Burrow? Or through a letter? Anything! Or how about you don't lie to your mother when she asks you about it!" She said, she wasn't exactly yelling, but it certainly felt like it to the couple across from the table.

"Mum, please calm down." Charlie said softly, and Molly's eyes flashed.

"Calm down? You want me to calm down when my own son lied to my face? When he is sleeping with someone that he works with? Really Charles!?" She said, raising her voice slowly. Hermione ducked her head, she felt tears coming to the surface at Molly yelling at them. "And Hermione, I expected better from you." She said, turning her gaze to the girl. "You should have spoken up when I asked about it." She said, giving Hermione a stern gaze.

"I'm sorry…" Hermione muttered.

"Hermione I just don't understand why-" Molly started, and Charlie interrupted her.

"Enough." He said softly, and Molly turned her head to him in shock.

"Pardon me?" She said, surprised her child would dare to tell her when something was enough.

"Mum, that's enough. You are in my house. Now, are you going to listen to what I have to say?" He asked, and even Hermione stared at him in shock. Molly was silent for a moment before gesturing for Charlie to continue.

"Mum, we didn't get together until after you thought we were already together, so that's why we didn't tell you when you asked. And we didn't tell you after because both of us were concerned with how you would react. We both saw you after you thought we were dating, you didn't like it. AS for not telling you in a letter, we only just came to the decision that it was time to tell you, and what sort of news is that to tell in a letter?" Charlie finished, and leaned forward, placing his arms on the table. He gazed evenly at his mum, who looked somewhat ashamed. Molly turned her gaze to Hermione, she no longer looked angry.

"We aren't sleeping together." Hermione burst out softly, and she heard Charlie chuckle a little. "Molly, we were just worried about what you would think." She said, and the woman nodded in understanding. "I am sorry we didn't tell you sooner though." She added, and Charlie moved his hand on top of hers. Molly looked at their hands clasped on the table, and Hermione watched her face soften.

"So… you were worried about what I would think?" Molly asked gently, and Hermione answered by giving her an apologetic smile. "Well there is a seven year difference." Molly said in a joking tone, Charlie laughed and relaxed into his seat.

"So… you can stay here if you want mum… Just know that we will be in the same bedroom if you do. But we'll only be sleeping." He emphasized the last sentence and Molly glanced at Hermione, who gave her a little nod.

"I don't want to intrude." Molly said, taking a hold of her teacup.

"Mum, please. You aren't. I'm sorry we caught you off guard. But please don't think you are intruding." Charlie said, and Molly nodded silently. Hermione let out a breath, thank god that was over.

Charlie spent the rest of the day with his mum, and Hermione spent some time with James and Will so that Charlie could explain everything. When she came back, Will and James in tow, Charlie and his mum were sitting at the table laughing. By the smell of it, Molly had started dinner. Which was lucky, because Hermione had only brought the boys along with the hope that Molly would be cooking that night. The dragon keepers on the reserve didn't get a whole lot of home cooked meals.

They joined Molly and Charlie at the table, and the boys handed out beers. Molly even took one, which surprised Hermione greatly. They all sat around, Hermione occasionally getting up to help Molly check on the food.

"So, you finally know about these two?" James asked her bluntly, and Hermione glared at him.

"Yes, yes. Though now that I think about it, it makes sense." She said offhandedly. Hermione looked at her in surprise, but Charlie just grinned.

"Oh yeah mum, how's that?" Charlie asked, leaning back in his chair.

"Well, you are so alike now. You work in the same field, you look out for each other. You're partners, and it shows. By the sounds of it, there couldn't be anyone better for my son." She said, giving Hermione a warm smile. Hermione blushed a little, and stood from next to Charlie to pull dinner from the oven. Molly followed her, and Hermione took advantage of the small opportunity.

"Molly?" She asked softly, setting the pan on the stovetop.

"Yes dear?" Molly asked gently, taking the hint and purposefully not being loud enough that the men would hear.

"Are you really okay with this?" Hermione asked her, looking Molly square in the face. Molly gazed at her for a moment before looking at her son. She looked at Charlie thoughtfully before turning back to Hermione.

"Yes, I really am. I was upset at first, and I admit that I had reservations before, when I thought you were together at the Burrow. You make him happy though. I haven't seen him this happy since he started working here. And I have never seen him this happy about a girl- pardon, a woman. I always forget that you are all grown now." Molly said, smiling at Hermione sadly.

"Molly… you know we are all still your kids." Hermione said gently, and Molly nodded.

"Oh yes, of course." She said, waving her hands about and turning back to the food. "Come on now, let's get this out." She said, and Hermione nodded before turning and grabbing some plates. They gave all the boys their food before sitting down themselves. Hermione caught Charlie's eye, and smiled at him. He grinned back at her between mouthfuls of food, and she turned back to her food. She was happy, they didn't have to hide anything anymore. This was good.


	19. Dragon's Blood

A/N: Okay, I am fully aware it took me too long to get this chapter up. It took me 3 tries to finish it up, while usually it only takes one. My husband and I are currently living in different states, and i have depression, so I didn't handle it very well at all. But now this chapter is up, and hopefully I will update again very soon. Thank you for bearing with me.

* * *

 **Dragon's Blood**

Hermione made sure to send a letter to Ginny, letting her know that Molly had found out, and it was fine to tell anyone that she wanted to. Charlie had laughed at her when she explained what she was doing, but then she smirked at him and he shut up.

"Do you really want everyone showing up here next week and having the same reaction as your mum? Or would you rather them already know?" She asked, and after a moment of thought, he had raised his hands in surrender and backed out of the room, giving her some quiet to finish her letter.

And finally, Charlie's family showed up. They had arrived when they were working, so Eric took them to the cantina and chatted with them until they were done for the day. Charlie and Hermione however, hadn't known and thought that they would be arriving later that night. They had been told by James, who had seen them when he gave Eric some paperwork that needed to be filled out.

They had been in Mariah's enclosure, cleaning off some scale rot that she had on a leg when James ducked inside the space. Mariah had been doing a bit better with other people, especially people that Hermione and Charlie seemed to get on with. James made sure to give Mariah a few kind words before turning to Charlie.

"Hey mate." He said casually, and Hermione glanced over at him before continuing to scrub at the rot.

"Hey James, how are you?" Charlie asked, patting Mariah slightly before standing up and facing James.

"Well… I just saw something, something you might want to know?" He said, and now he seemed a little nervous. Mariah let out a huff, they had found out that she was very perceptive to emotions, and Hermione shot James a glare. He gave her an apologetic smile before taking a deep breath and continuing to speak to Charlie.

"Go on," Charlie prompted him, crossing his arms.

"Well mate… your family got here earlier than you said." He said, Charlie's arms fell to his side in shock.

"Oh.. Well thanks mate.. I should ah…." He said, gesturing to the dragon behind him, and James nodded.

"Yeah, of course." He said. He gave Hermione a wave before leaving the enclosure. Charlie turned back to face Hermione, and she could see that he was nervous.

"Charlie? Are you okay?" She asked gently, pausing in her scrubbing. He shrugged before grabbing his brush again.

"It's just the first time that we're all going to be in the same space since…" He trailed off, and glanced at Hermione. She gave him a soft smile and nodded.

"Charlie," She said, raising her voice as they both began scrubbing again. "I know that you are nervous. And it's okay, but you know that it's going to be alright. Right?" She asked, glancing at him.

"Yeah." He said gruffly. And at that very moment, they broke through the rot. Normally, they would have known they were about to break through, giving them enough time to back away. The whole purpose of the scrubbing was to get to the blood, which would help them heal faster, and without the rot. Instead of jumping out of the way however, they both got a face full of blood. Hermione yelled in surprise, which startled Mariah who began to move about. Hermione couldn't see though, and she started to panic.

"Charlie?!" She yelled, and she felt a hand on her arm. He began to try to wipe the blood off of her eyes, but she knew they needed to get out. "Charlie, we need to go." She said, and after a moment, he scooped her up and ran to the exit, they got through the door and she expected him to put her down, but that didn't happen. He kept walking with her, and she had a feeling that they were going to the infirmary. She opened her mouth to say something, but blood trickled in and she gagged.

"Shhhh love, we're almost there." He said, and she just nodded, obviously he could see just fine. "At least that was our last thing for the day." He said, and she felt his chest rumble with silent laughter, and she smiled. She heard a door open a moment later, then she felt a hard bed under her.

A bit later, the medi-wizard had gotten all of the blood out of her eyes. Because it had been dragon blood, he hadn't wanted to use magic just in case it reacted badly, so Hermione had gone through the horrible experience of having her eyes rinsed for what seemed like hours, but in reality was only about ten minutes.

Charlie walked over as Hermione was toweling off her face, and he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Are we okay to leave?" Hermione asked, directing her question at the medi-wizard who was cleaning up the room.

"Well, I would really like to keep you for maybe another hour, make sure that there won't be any side affects from getting it in your eyes." He said, and Hermione nodded and let out a sigh. She turned her eyes to Charlie, who gave her an apologetic smile.

"Well… do you have to stay?" She asked him, and he paused before shaking his head. She sighed and leaned back on the cot she was sitting on. "You should go see your family then." She said after a moment, he slid his hand into hers and kissed her on her forehead.

"Okay. I'll be right back though." He said, and she smiled gratefully at him. She heard him chuckle as he exited the room, and then she closed her eyes, might as well get a nap in as long as she was here. Before long however, not even a quarter hour later, she heard people enter the room, and she sat up straight.

Standing before her was the entirety of the Weasley clan, plus Harry and Fleur. Her mouth fell open, she hadn't expected Charlie to bring them here. She glanced at Charlie, who shrugged helplessly.

"Mum insisted." He said, and she let out a sigh before gluing a smile to her face. Then, she was surrounded. Everyone seemed to be chatting all at once, and she just continued to smile until she heard Ron say something.

"So, you're shagging Charlie then?" He said loudly, and the room fell silent, and her eyes fell on him, glaring.

"Excuse me?" She said softly.

"Well I moved on, but it seems like you're so hung up still that you're shagging my brother." Ron said, sneering at her.

"Ronald…" Molly said, shocked that her own son would say something like that.

"Molly, it's fine." Hermione said giving her a small smile. She then turned back to Ron, and swung her feet over the side of the cot, her whole body facing him. "Ronald Weasley. I'm just so in love with the fact that you are rude, that you don't know how to chew with your mouth closed, that you can't keep a secret for the life of you, that anything you could possible try to blame on someone else, you do. I'm so infatuated with the fact that when we were dating, you would just ignore me for hours, that you would make fun of me for reading or doing something that interested me. I'm so sorry, I'm just so in love with you I decided that I would take anyone with red hair, despite the personality and your sister was already taken so I went for the next best thing. Yes me dating Charlie, has nothing to do with the person he is and everything to do with you." She said, and as she spoke, she saw Ron's face fall. She heard a few throats clear after she was done speaking, but she kept her eyes on Ron, who looked thoroughly embarrassed. Eventually, Charlie spoke, breaking the tension.

"Well, I guess everyone knows now." He said, placing one hand gently on Hermione's shoulder. And people around the room laughed tensely. She glared at Ron, who matched her glare for a moment before leaving the room.

"Oh Hermione dear, I'm so sorry. His girlfriend moved back to America and ended things with them. He's been in a right foul mood." Molly explained, and Hermione waved her hand.

"It's fine Molly, I think he got the clue." She said. They spent the remainder of Hermione's time in the infirmary talking about what they did at the reserve. Finally, she was told that she could leave after the medi-wizard inspected her eyes. She sat still as he examined her, and only blinked when he leaned back with a sigh.

"So, am I alright to leave?" She asked, and the medi-wizard nodded.

"As far as I can tell, you're fine." He said, and she smiled at him.

"Thank you." She said, standing up, he nodded and she left the room to join the Weasley's. "Anyone hungry?" She asked, and smiled when every man looked her way, grinning hopefully.

"I was thinking, should we take them to Dragonsmeade for dinner?" Charlie asked, he knew that they could afford it, they spent almost none of their earnings since they mostly ate at the cantina.

"That's a brilliant idea." Hermione said, and with that, she and Charlie lead the way to Dragonsmead.


	20. Scarred

A/N: As usual, I am so sorry for keeping you waiting. I worked hard on this chapter, and I really hope that you like it. There will be another note at the end. Much love- Bookworm

* * *

 **Scarred**

Charlie seemed much more at ease once his family had left. He had gone back to joking like he used to around Hermione, and he would also speak of events that happened at work. Hermione had caught on fast that Molly disapproved of his work so much that he chose to not speak of anything that might have happened that day.

They had just sat down for breakfast, Charlie had his left arm around Hermione's waist when they were joined by some of their friends. Will and James immediately began talking, and Charlie laughed as he ate.

"So, it's a day off for you, what are you planning today?" Charlie said when they two men settled down. She thought for a moment, when an idea hit her.

"Well, I've been wanting to get a tattoo for a while now." She said nonchalantly, and James dropped his fork.

"What? Hermione? Are you feeling alright?" He asked, and she glanced up at the man across from her and realized that they were all staring at her. She slowly chewed the food she had in her mouth before answering them.

"Yes… Why?" She asked slowly, and Charlie shrugged.

"Well love, it just doesn't strike as anything you would normally do." He said simply.

"Well, it's time for a change." She said matter-of-factly, and Charlie grinned. He kissed her temple before turning back to his food.

"Do you know what you want to get?" Will asked her, and she nodded with a grin.

"But I'm not telling." She said, receiving groans of disappointment from Will and James, Charlie just chuckled.

"Well boys, we should be off. Hermione, enjoy your day off. I'll see you at the cabin later." Charlie said, he kissed her quickly and then the three men walked away. She smiled happily and walked back to her cabin to grab her bag.

It didn't hurt as much as she thought it would. She had felt the fire, nothing could compare to that. This was nothing, and she chatted with the artist the entire time. The most uncomfortable part was the spell at the end, the one that melded the tattoo with the person, the spell that allowed some tattoos to move on the skin. She stood once it was finished and walked over to a mirror on the wall, she had gotten the tattoo on her shoulder, it snaked around to settle on her collarbone and she grinned.

"It's perfect." She said. "Thank you so much." She added, handing the artist what she owed him. He nodded and admires his work.

"One of my better pieces if I may say." He said gruffly. Hermione took one more look in the mirror before shaking the man's hand and walking out of the studio type building.

She made her way back to her cabin, the tattoo had taken longer to finish than she had thought, it was close to dinnertime. She pulled on her dragon skin tunic over her tank top, she didn't want anyone to see her new tattoo before Charlie could. She grinned as she set out to the cantina, but changed direction at the last minute. She knew Charlie would be with his dragons still, and as she made her way into the enclosure area, her stomach became a tangle of knots. She felt like something was wrong, and she pulled out her wand just in case. She quickened her steps until she found where Charlie was.

He was in an enclosure with a new dragon, but he looked fine. She let out a sigh and leaned against the opposite wall, not wanting to bother him. She smiled when she realized that he was talking to the dragon. He liked to speak to them, get them to trust him. She stared at the dragon, he really was a beauty. He was pure black, but his eyes were a bright green. She stared at him for a long time, and that's when she noticed that he had started to glow.

She had read about this, though she had never seen it. She grabbed the Dragon's chart from next to the door leading to the enclosure and tried to find what dragon he was. They didn't know… she racked her brains. This was… maybe a crossbreed? That didn't matter now though, as she looked up and saw that he was now more orange than black, and Charlie had noticed as well. She wrenched the door open at the same moment that Charlie reached an arm forward to touch the large creature.

"Charlie NO!" She yelled as he made contact, and the light that followed was blinding. It was hot, almost like fire. She immediately used a spell to pull Charlie and her from the enclosure. She finally was able to open her eyes, and saw Charlie in front of her. She gasped, he had burns all over one side.

"No.. no.. no no no Charlie come on, please." She muttered, waving her wand over him, attempting to heal the burns. "Somebody get help!" She yelled, luckily most of the time there was another tamer within earshot, and she heard footsteps running. She looked up and was relieved to see Eric coming toward them. "Eric, he needs a medic. My spells aren't helping much." She said, trying to remain calm. Charlie groaned, he was about to come to.

"He shouldn't wake." Eric said gruffly, and Hermione nodded. She looked down at him and raised her wand.

"I'm sorry." She said, and then cast a spell to move him back to unconsciousness. She continued to do as much as she could to heal him before Healers were by her side, one gently moved her away and took her place.

"What kind of Dragon?" One asked, and that's when the nickname came to her.

"Kamikaze…" She said gently. Eric gave her a look. "Japanese Firebelly.." She explained, and realization dawned on some of the faces around Charlie. A Firebelly was a cross between an Ironbelly and a Fireball dragon, still a fairly new breed, and not much was known about them except that when they feel like they are in danger, they almost explode into a ball of fire, burning anything near. They didn't die, but it did hurt them to do it. Hermione looked back into the enclosure at the dragon, it's bright green eyes staring out of the window at the group of people.

"We need to move him to the infirmary." She heard a healer say, and they performed a body bind spell before lifting him into the air. They all walked in a huddled circle, Charlie in the middle. Hermione and Eric followed behind quickly.

It was hours before they had him properly healed, or at least healed enough. Hermione stayed by his bed, Will and James and gone to get some food, and had promised to bring it back along with some for Hermione. She had just started to doze off, her head resting on the bed beside Charlie when they returned.

"Hey Hermione." She heard, and her head flew up.

"Sorry." She said sheepishly. Will just smiled and handed her a container of food and a plastic fork. "Thanks." She said, and he nodded as he and James took their places in the other chairs by the bed.

"Do you think he will wake up soon?" James asked, and Hermione stared at Charlie.

"I don't know." She said softly. She had long ago lifted the charm that had been keeping him blissfully unaware, but he had stayed unconscious. "I hope it's soon though." She said, and the other two nodded in agreement.

 **Hermione:**

It wasn't soon, not by a longshot. Hermione was just finishing work two days later when she saw James running. Her heart skipped, unsure of the news. It would be either good or bad. She quickly finished what she was doing before he reached her.

"Hermione." He panted, gripping his side. "He woke up." He gasped, and her face lit up with relief.

"Bloody hell. I have to finish this. Maybe ten minutes? Wait for me?" She asked, and James nodded in agreement, still trying to catch his breath. She finished up with the last dragon, she was quick but thorough. She then stood next to James for a minute before he nodded and they both started running to the infirmary. They reached the building and slowed to a walk, they couldn't risk wasting time by knocking something over in the crowded halls.

"Remind me to start working out more." She heard James say, and she laughed.

"Did you tell Will he was awake?" She asked, and he nodded.

"Ran into him when I was coming to get you." He said, and she nodded, happy that Charlie hadn't been aloe the entire time. They finally got to the room and Hermione grinned when she saw Charlie. He smiled weakly and hugged her tightly when she reached him.

"How are you feeling?" She asked, and he shrugged. "Any pain?" She asked him, and he snorted.

"A bit, but I think that it's just from the fall." He said, and she nodded. The other two men made sure to talk for a moment before Hermione gave them a glance. They took the hint and said that they were going to go get some food, leaving Hermione and Charlie alone.

"How long was I out?" He asked, and Hermione took a deep breath before answering.

"Two and a half days." She said, and she saw Charlie raise his injured hand to run it through his hair. Hermione bit her lip, his entire right side had been burned, and he had lost some of his hair. His hand froze when he only felt scarred skin.

"Hermione." He said evenly, and she raised her eyebrows. "Can you get me a mirror?" He asked, and she nodded slowly. She summoned a mirror from their cabin, and handed it to him. He slowly raised it, and stared at himself, his face emotionless.

"Charlie?" She asked softly, worried that he hadn't said anything.

"Will it grow back?" He asked, and finally looked back up at her. She shook her head and looked down, she knew how much he liked his hair. They sat in silence for a while, Hermione was just waiting for Charlie to speak.

"Hermione, I think that we should tell Eric that we aren't together anymore." He said, making Hermione's mouth fall open.

"What?" She asked softly, and he cringed.

"I was thinking about you when I was in there, I had seen you outside and I got distracted. We can't do this any more." He said, she opened her mouth to argue, but he shook his head. "No Hermione. Just go get Eric please." He said evenly, and she stood abruptly. Tears had filled her eyes, and she opened her mouth but he shook his head again and she left the room.

 **Charlie:**

He couldn't feel any hair. He froze, he knew he was burned, he could see his arm. But he didn't think that it was that bad. He looked at Hermione, she was staring at him and biting her lip. Like she knew he had just discovered something that he wasn't going to like.

"Hermione?" He asked, trying to keep calm. "Can you get me a mirror?" He asked her. She nodded and lifted her wand. They only waited a moment before an object flew into her hand, which she then handed him. He lifted it and his mind went numb. A large part of his hair was gone, and he now had a large red burn scar on half his face.

"Charlie?" She said, and only one thing came to his mind.

"Will it grow back?" He asked her, and she shook her head somberly. He couldn't do this to her, they wouldn't be able to even go outside without him causing her embarrassment. He couldn't do that to her, she didn't deserve that after everything that she had already been through. She deserved better. He knew what he needed to do.

"Hermione, I think we should tell Eric that we aren't together anymore." He said after much thought, and Hermione looked up at him in shock.

"What?" She asked, and the pain in her voice made him cringe. He didn't want to do this.. but he didn't want to cause her pain for the rest of her life by making her uncomfortable. He needed to think of something to say to her. He had seen her outside of the enclosure before the accident, and his mind drifted to their relationship guidelines they had been given.

"I was thinking about you when I was in there, I had seen you outside and I got distracted. We can't do this any more." He said, she opened her mouth to argue, but he shook his head. He swallowed so that he didn't give anything away. He didn't need her to know how much this hurt him to say. "No Hermione. Just go get Eric please." He forced himself to say evenly, and she stood abruptly. Tears had filled her eyes, and she opened her mouth but he shook his head again and she left the room.

He let out a shaky breath and wiped the tears that had formed away. She was the best thing to happen to him in a long time… and now he couldn't have her. He leaned his head back, his eyes shut tight. He would ask Eric to switch her with James, she would be paired with Will. They wouldn't share a cabin anymore, which would be for the best. Soon, everyone would forget and she wouldn't have to bear the same of having him next to her.

"Charles?" A voice said, and he opened his eyes to see Eric.

"Hey Eric." He said, and he cleared his face of the tears that had fallen.

" 'Ermione jus' came an said you wanted to talk to me? Lass was mighty upset." He said, and Charlie nodded.

"You can take the relationship status from our files." He said simply, and Eric stared at him.

"Reason?" He finally asked, and Charlie sighed.

"I.. I saw her outside of the enclosure. She distracted me, she didn't mean to, but my mind was on her and not the dragon. Can't have that happening." Charlie said, and Eric nodded.

"Now… The real reason?" He asked, and Charlie stared at him.

"What makes you think that isn't the real reason?" Charlie fired back, his voice hitching. Eric stared at him evenly until Charlie answered. "I can't do this to her. It would be an embarrassment to be seen with me, everyone would be scared or disgusted. She's been through too much already. A little heartbreak now will save her in the future." Charlie said, and Eric nodded in understanding.

"Aye… I understand. I'm sorry mate." Eric said, and Charlie took a deep breath to stop the tears from flowing.

"I also want to put in a request to change partners." Charlie said, and Eric nodded thoughtfully.

"Who you wan' to switch for?" He asked, and Charlie closed his eyes.

"James." He said, and he felt a hand on his shoulder and he opened his eyes, Eric was looking at him sadly.

"I'm sorry mate." He said, and Charlie nodded. Eric turned and left the room, leaving Charlie to his thoughts. He had done the right thing, right?

* * *

A/N 2: Okay, I know, I know. Don't despair. I love you all. Also, I just wanted to say. It took me about 3 tries to finally write this chapter. I just couldn't get it right. it was so forced. I am so proud of this chapter, even though the ending wasn't what I expected. I really wanted this to be a happy chapter. Oh well. Words flow. I'll try to get another chapter out tomorrow. Read and Review! I love hearing what everyone thinks!


	21. Firewhiskey

A/N: I'm going to fix them! I cant have them apart for too long. and of course I love you lot too much to do that to you. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I liked writing it. Also, i woke up to notifications for 6 new reviews! That's the most I have ever gotten in a day, much less a night. Thank you all so much. Much love- Bookworm.

* * *

 **Firewhiskey**

Hermione was confused, she didn't know why Charlie had done what he had. She was sitting in their cabin, having a cup of tea and running over what had transpired in the infirmary when she heard a knock on the door. She jumped slightly, startled out of her thoughts. She stood and walked to the door, wiping her eyes quickly before opening it slowly. She stood to the side at the sight of Will.

"Hey Will." She said, her voice sounded raspy from crying. Will gave her a small smile before she led him into the small kitchen where she had been drinking tea. She quickly poured him a cup, though her hands were shaking. He took it with a nod and drank a sip before speaking.

"Hermione… What happened?" He asked, and she shrugged and shook her head, not trusting her words. "It's just… You both seemed so good." He said, and she nodded in agreement.

"He said.." She started, she paused to take a sip of her tea. "He said that it was because I distracted him right before he got burned. And in the outlines we got when we started dating, it said that if our being together affected our work then it would need to end." She said miserably. Will looked down at the table, she let out a sigh and drank some more tea.

"Will, why are you here?" She asked, curious. He looked up at her and suddenly looked very nervous. "Will..?" She asked slowly.

"Well… Charlie asked to… well he asked to switch partners." Will said, looking extremely uncomfortable to be the one to be telling her this.

"What?" She whispered, shocked. Will looked down at the table once more and became red in the face.

"And since you are switching partners… you will be switching cabins as well." Will mumbled, and Hermione slumped in her seat.

"This is ridiculous." She muttered, and looked up at will. He set his tea down and took a deep breath.

"And.. well I'm your new partner." He said simply, and Hermione nodded slowly. "I'm so sorry Hermione, but I've been told to help you move today." He finished, and Hermione closed her eyes tightly, this was all happening very fast.

"Fine." She forced out. She was mad now, Charlie hadn't even let her speak her mind. He had decided for the both of them. "Let's get it over with." She said, and Will nodded.

They made fast work of moving her things, and she claimed that she had long day and just wanted to sleep, so she shut herself in her room as soon as they had finished. She didn't sleep though, she was thinking over and over about that day.

She had been hurt before during work and they hadn't even spoke about ending things. Why was this time different? She had stayed here… for Charlie. She should have never stayed. With that thought in her mind, she quickly pulled on some boots and stormed out of the cabin. She paused as she passed Charlie's, but shook her head and continued to walk. She usually didn't get this upset, but she had done so much to stay here, to be with Charlie. She felt like he had just thrown that out without any thought.

She finally got to where she wanted, and knocked lightly on the door. It opened wide and there stood Eric, he paused for a moment before stepping out of the doorway.

"Come in." He said, and she stepped into the cabin. Eric, being the Head Trainer, had his own cabin. So Hermione wasn't surprised to find that he was alone. "Care for a cuppa tea?" He asked her, and she nodded.

"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" She asked, and Eric laughed.

"If you had been Lass, I would never 'ave opened the door." He said, and Hermione forced a smile before accepting a cup of tea from him. "So." He said, sitting down at the table and gazing evenly at Hermione. "What brings you 'ere?" He asked, and she sat across from him at the table. She took a deep breath and traced the rim of her cup with her finger before answering.

"I want to leave." She said, and Eric sighed before rubbing his hands on his face. He shook his head slowly.

"No… I'm sorry. I know you're 'urting. But I can' let you leave. You are an amazing trainer." He said, and she felt tears fill her eyes.

"Eric… you don't understand. I stayed for him. I chose Romania for him." She said softly, and Eric nodded.

"Aye." He said, and he moved around the table so that he was sitting next to her instead of across. " 'Ermione, I know it's 'ard. Been through a lot, you 'ave. Don' let this… this one thing, ruin what you 'have worked so 'hard for." He said, speaking carefully. Hermione looked up at him, and let out a sigh.

"You won't let me leave?" She whispered, and he shook his head, giving her a small smile.

"No. I think you two will figure everything out." He said, and she nodded.

They sat in silence for a while, drinking their tea. Hermione looked outside, it was dark now. She set down her cup and stood, letting out a sigh.

"I should get. Work tomorrow." She said, and Eric nodded. She stood still for just a moment longer before leaving his cabin.

The next morning, Hermione was up early. She dressed quickly and made her way to the cantina. She didn't want to chance running into anyone that would want to talk to her, and she knew Will's dragons so she would be able to get a head start on their work for the day.

She sat alone for a bit, eating slowly, until Will and James sat down at the table. She quickly looked around, and James coughed. She turned back to him, one eyebrow raised.

"He is still in the infirmary." He said, and Hermione nodded. She didn't speak for the rest of the meal, and told Will that she was going early. He nodded and said that he would follow her shortly.

That was the quietest and most awkward day that Hermione had ever experienced. She and Will spoke only about what needed to be spoken about, and neither of them mentioned Charlie.

She had known that he was coming back to work, she had tried to be ready for it. Seeing him was just a whole other matter entirely. To make matters worse, Hermione's friends were his as well, they happened to see each other quite often. The first time she saw him, she hadn't been able to say anything. She just stood for a moment before turning away and leaving the room. The next time she saw him was at dinner, they were sitting at the same table.

"Hermione." He said, giving her a nod in greeting.

"Weasley." She said through gritted teeth. Will and James looked at each other, both having uncomfortable looks on their faces.

It went on like that for a couple weeks, little was said and they tried to just avoid one another. Until one Friday night, when Will and James said that they were going drinking in town that night. They invited both Hermione and Charlie, but both declined. Hermione made sure to leave the table before the other three, not wanting to be alone with Charlie at that moment. She entered her cabin and went to the kitchen, intending to make some tea. Something else caught her eye however. Will had left a bottle of firewhiskey on the counter, and note laying next to it.

 _H-_

 _Seems like you might need this. Relax._

 _-Will_

She sighed and stared at the bottle, she didn't usually enjoy drinking to forget, but this seemed like an excellent exception to her rule. She grabbed the bottle and twisted the top off roughly. She took a deep breath before filling her mouth with the spicy liquid.

She finished the bottle rather quickly, and she was dancing around the cabin to music. She was rather enjoying herself until a love song started on the radio. She glowered at the set, as though it was trying to hurt her. She grabbed the bottle, unaware that it was empty. She tilted it and when only a drop came out, she hurtled it at the wall, crying. She sat down heavily on the floor.

"Why would he do that?" She sobbed. She desperately wanted to know why. "I should talk to him." She said, suddenly clam. She stood up and stumbled to the door. She leaned against it for a moment before wrenching it open and stepping into the night. It took her quite a while to make her way to her old cabin, well to Charlie's cabin. But when she did, she knocked heavily on the door.

"Charlie Weasley, open this door!" She said loudly, she heard a thud inside and took a step away, plastering what she thought passed as a smile on her face. The door opened, revealing Charlie, who had obviously just woken up.

"Her- Hermione?" He said, looking confused. "Are you alright?" He asked, and she nodded.

"Can I come in?" She asked, and he stepped to the side. She tripped a bit as she walked in and sat down in a chair.

"Are you… you drunk?" He asked, and she grimaced.

"A bit." She mumbled. "But never mind that. We need to talk." She said, and Charlie began to shake his head. "Don't you dare. I want to talk." She said sternly, and he sat down heavily.

"Okay, go ahead." He said, gesturing for her to speak.

"Why did you do it?" She blurted out, and he looked pained for a moment before answering.

"Hermione I told you why." He said, and she shook her head vigorously.

"No. I've been hurt loads since we had started up and we never discussed breaking it off." She said, standing up in front of him. "Now, tell me the real reason." She said. He let out a sigh, and gazed at her. Her hair was wild, a complete mess. Her eyes shined in the light, and her cheeks were bright red.

"Hermione.." He thought of telling her but decided against it. "That is the real reason." He said, and she stepped closer to him.

"Not buying it Weasley." She said, and he shrugged at her.

"I don't know what you want me to say." He said, and she glared at him.

"I want to know the truth." She said. They stared at each other for a moment before she moved closer. "Just tell me." She said, bending down to say it in his ear.

"Hermione." He said, he voice sounded strangled.

"Tell. Me." She said, kissing his jaw with each word, and he let out a deep sigh.

"Hermione. Don't do something that you will regret." He forced out, and at that she sat herself on his lap.

"Well then, just tell me." She said, looking him in the eyes. He broke off the stare first and looked across the room.

"I have already told you Hermione." He said, and she shook her head.

"Well fine, but you didn't let me speak." She said, and she pecked him on the lips when he opened his mouth to speak. "But you're going to let me now." She said, and he nodded.

"Charlie, I didn't want to end what we had. We've both been hurt before, I don't know why this time was different. I've never distracted you like that before. Why now? You know, I'm the one that got you out?" She asked, and he shook his head. He knew he had heard someone, but he hadn't quite remembered who it had been. He couldn't have been sure that it was her. "Charlie I… I love you." She said, and he stared at her. That was the first time she had said that to him. And he had never said it to her. Sure, he called her love, but that was a term of endearment.

"What?" He said, and she pressed her mouth against his.

"Charlie I love you." She whispered when they broke apart, she rested her forehead against his. She kissed him softly once more. "Charlie, just tell me." She said, and he shook his head.

"I can't." He choked out, and she kissed him again, tangling her fingers in his hair, and hand rested on his scarred cheek.

"Charlie?" She asked, forcing him to look into her eyes. He stayed silent. Her eyes had tears in them, and he could smell the firewhiskey on her breath. But he couldn't help it, he pulled her to him and kissed her. His hands tangled into her hair, holding her to him, and her arms wrapped around his neck.

"Hermione." He gasped, pulling away. "Hermione, we can't.." He said, and she sighed.

"We can't do anything." She said in a huff, and Charlie couldn't help but chuckle. "Can't even be together because you-" She jabbed him in the chest with her finger. "-are too stubborn to tell me why you don't want to be with me." She said, and she started to stand. Against his better judgement, Charlie pulled her back and buried his face into her hair. He had always loved how her hair smelled, a mix of vanilla and lavender.

"Oh Hermione…" He sighed. He held her for a long time as she cried into his neck.

"Please… Charlie… Please tell me?" She asked, hiccupping. Charlie chose to remain silent. They sat like that, until Hermione fell asleep.

"Oh Hermione…" He whispered, picking her up and taking her to his room. He covered her with a blanket and that id when he finally noticed her tattoo. A Peruvian Vipertooth. The dragon that had first burned her. He smiled. She really was an amazing witch, he thought as he made his way to the couch for the night.


	22. Admissions

A/N: This is a dialogue heavy chapter, and it is on the shorter side compared to the others, but it's good. I couldn't keep doing it to them, so this chapter ends on a good note. I love the response this story has been getting so far, and I look forward to moving forward with this story, but I need help! I have no ideas what to do now with it! So please, PM me with your good thoughts! Much love- Bookworm

* * *

 **Admissions**

It took her a moment to wake fully to know what she had done last night. She groaned, her head was pounding. She sat up and covers fell on her, she looked around and realized that she was in Charlie's room. She bit her lip, she really needed to get out of here. She searched her pockets for her wand, wanting to apparate out, but with a sigh she realized she must have left it at her cabin. She quietly climbed out of the bed and went to the bathroom, knowing that Charlie kept potions for hangovers in the cabinet. She silently threw one back and froze when she reached the sitting room. Charlie was sitting up, waiting.

"Morning Hermione." He said softly, and she bobbed her head in greeting. She had hoped to duck out before he could catch her.

"Look, I'm sorry about last night." She grimaced and headed toward the door, when his voice stopped her.

"Hermione." He said again. "I think we need to talk." He said, and that was the last straw. She whipped around and glared at him.

"Talk?" She said, her voice was surprisingly even for how angry she felt. "You want to talk _now_? Really Charles?" She said, almost spitting out his name.

"Hermione please." He said, and she shook her head.

"You didn't want to talk when you decided that you wanted to break things off. You didn't want to talk for weeks after that. You didn't want to talk about switching partners. Switching cabins. You didn't want to talk then, but you want to talk _now_?" She had started to yell, and she couldn't help but admit to herself that it made her feel better.

"What else was I to do Hermione?" Charlie asked, and he had risen his voice as well. "You would have tried to talk me out of it!" He exclaimed, he was now standing as well, too angry to stay seated.

"Of course I would have you bloody idiot!" She bellowed, throwing her hands into the air. "Would you rather me just sit and agree with you? That I give everything up?" She asked, sounding hurt.

"Look at me Hermione! Look at what happened!" He cried out, and angry tears filled her eyes.

"I know bloody well what happened _Charles_. I was there, if you don't recall." She said simply, and he let out an angry sigh. "But I didn't peg you as someone who would give up." She said, and he shook his head.

"That's not fair." He said quietly, and she let out a harsh laugh.

"Not fair? Really? How is that not fair? After everything you put me through." She said, and he looked pained. He stayed silent, so she took the opportunity.

"You did this for you. Charles. Weasley. You did this so that you didn't have to worry, so you didn't have to care. Why is it that we get close, open to each other, and you run at the first hiccup?" She asked, her tears finally leaking out of her eyes. She angrily brushed them away. "You are so selfish Charlie." She said quietly, and she saw anger flash over his face.

"Selfish? You think what I did was selfish?" He asked, and she nodded.

"You are. You turned tail and decided what was best for you. Why have a witch by your side? Why have me tying you down? This was just the perfect opportunity-" She had started.

"I did it for you!" He finally shouted, and she stared at him.

"What?" She said after a pause.

"Hermione…" He said, and she shook her head.

"No, don't you dare back out now." She said, and he gulped.

"Hermione…" He paused again, and she was staring at him expectantly. "Bloody hell woman… I didn't want to put you through this." He finally said.

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked, sounding confused.

"Look at me Hermione." He said, gesturing to his burn. "Would you be able to go into public with me? Would you be able to take photos with me, hold my hand? What about being together? Would you be able to be intimate with someone like me?" He asked, his chest rising and falling as he held back the tears that were threatening him. They were both silent foe a moment before he realized what he had just told her. He looked frightened, and it made her heart constrict.

"You… Why… You complete idiot Charlie." She finally whispered, and he was taken aback.

" 'scuse me?" He sputtered, and she walked to right in front of him.

"Charlie… Why would you think I would care about that? I don't care what you look like. It's just a scar." She said softly, reaching up and lightly touching the scar on his face. "And when have I ever cared about what other people thought?" She asked sternly. He laughed and gently leaned his cheek into her open palm.

"I don't want to hold you back." He said, and she shook he head.

"And you won't. Why didn't you just talk to me Charlie?" She asked gently, and he shook his head slightly.

"I didn't want you to think that you should talk me out of it. I thought I was doing the right thing." He sighed, and she gave him a small smile.

"I love you Charlie." She said softly.

"I know." He sounded cheeky, and she raised her eyebrows.

"You know?" She asked, confused, and he nodded happily.

"You told me last night." He said, and she groaned.

"I'm so sorry." She let out, and he chuckled before getting serious again.

"This." He gestured to the burns on the right side of his face. "This doesn't bother you?" He asked. She stared at him for only a moment before shaking her head.

"Charlie… you could have died, and you think a little burn will make me run?" She asked, and he looked guilty.

"It's not little." He muttered, and she shook her head.

"It doesn't bother me." She said firmly, and he let out a resigned sigh.

"Well… what do we do now?" He asked. They both stood for a moment, not sure what to do next. Hermione shrugged and grabbed his shirt, pulling him down to her level before kissing him hard. He was startled, but returned the kiss enthusiastically, he wrapped his right arm around her waist, and pushed his left hand into her hair, cradling her head. The kiss only got more heated until the door flew open behind them, making them jump apart.

"Oh, well never mind Eric. Seems though Charlie is all better." James said. Eric stood next to him, staring at the pair.

"Figured it out, did you?" He asked, and Hermione blushed deeply.

"You can put those papers back in our files." Charlie said, and Eric laughed.

"Never took 'em out." He said, and Charlie's mouth fell open. "Knew you two would figure it out." He said gruffly. "You lot will be wanting to switch partners again?" He asked, and Hermione and Charlie looked at each other for a moment.

"Can we have a moment?" Charlie asked, and Eric nodded. Charlie pulled Hermione to the far side of the room.

"Hermione…" He said, nervous.

"I don't think we should switch." She said fast, and he gave her a small smile.

"Why?" He asked.

"I worry about you more when I'm at your side." She said, and he nodded.

"I think the same." He said. "But you can stay over any time you like." He said, giving her a wink. She blushed and nodded.

"It's settled then." She said, and he kissed the top of her head.

"I'm sorry for being such an idiot." He said softly, ad she laughed.

"I'm sure you can find a way to make it up to me." She told him, and he let out a loud laugh before walking back to Eric.

"We're gonna stay where we are." He told the Head Keeper, who nodded.

"Alrigh' then." He said, turning and walking away. James turned back to face them, a confused look on his face.

"When did you two make up?" He asked, and Charlie chuckled.

"Well you kind of walked in on us making up." Hermione said, making both men looked at her, shocked.

"Well, I was worried about you!" James said, turning to Charlie. "And anyway, we need to get to breakfast. We still work here you know." James said, and Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Fine, let's go. But we will continue this later." She said to Charlie, who grinned widely while James made a retching sound.

"Alright you two, I don't need that visual." He said, and Hermione looked at him.

"We will be making up in the cabin you know…" She trailed off, and James went pale.

"Well you could put up a silencing charm. And lock your bloody door." He said, and with that they all walked to the cantina together


	23. Family

A/N: I'm so sorry... I've tried to write this chapter about a dozen times. But here's the final draft. I hope you like it! R&R? Much Love- Bookworm

* * *

 **Family**

It was a little strange, working without Charlie, but they had been right. Working separately helped them to focus on whatever they were doing in that moment. Working with Will was nice though, he was pretty quiet while they worked, and Hermione liked that. Both of them were more attentive to what was going on when they weren't talking.

It had only been a week since Charlie and Hermione had decided to pursue their relationship once again, and it was still evident that Charlie was unsure about it. This is what brought them to having an argument once again in Charlie's cabin.

"Charlie, how many times do I have to tell you that I'm not leaving?" She sighed, holding his face between her hands.

"But-" And she cut him off with a chaste kiss. She pulled away and looked into his eyes, he still looked conflicted, and she let out a small sigh.

"Charlie…" She said, and he placed his hands on her hips. "I don't want anyone but you." She finally said, and he nodded slightly, doubt still lingering in his eyes. "I mean it." She said, kissing his scarred cheek lightly.

"Really?" He asked softly, and she smiled.

"Yes, really." She replied, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Charlie, I love you." She said, and as soon as the words left her mouth, she saw a fire erupt in his eyes. He pulled her closer to him, and bent his head just a little to kiss her.

"Hermione I love you too." He whispered when they broke apart, and she smiled, leaning her forehead against his. She looked into his eyes for a moment before taking a step back and grabbing his hands gently.

"Hermione, what-" But his sentence was cut short when she started to pull him to his room. His mouth fell open, and she just smiled at him sweetly. She closed the door behind them and gently pushed him onto the bed, where he sat down. She gently placed herself on his lap, one leg on each side of his hips.

"Hermione…" He groaned, closing his eyes. When he opened them, she had a deep blush in her cheeks. He grazed one cheek with his thumb before kissing her jawline, making her sigh softly. His lips met hers once more, and he fell back onto the bed, his feet still resting on the ground. Hermione let out a breathy laugh and kissed his neck gently.

"Hermione… Are you sure about this?" Charlie asked, and she nodded.

"Yes Charlie." She said, and that was all he needed to continue with the task at hand.

"I love you." Charlie said sleepily. He had one arm behind Hermione's neck, and the other dropped lazily over her waist.

"I love you too." She replied with a chuckle, kissing his cheek. "Now go to sleep." She said. "We have work in the morning."

Charlie nodded, and with a deep breath he closed his eyes. Just moments later, Hermione heard his breathing even out. She smiled and closed her own eyes, sleep overcoming her in just a matter of minutes.

* * *

"Oi! Both you, get up!" Hermione woke with a start, as the blanket was ripped off of them. She let out a small squeak, as she wasn't wearing any clothes. Charlie let out a low growl in his chest and yanked the blanket back from James, throwing it over Hermione. He stood up, not even phasing him that he was unclothed, and began to pull on some clothes.

"You gonna say why you barged in?" Charlie asked James, sounding irritated.

"They're hatching." James stated, before turning and leaving the room. Hermione jumped out of bed. The dragons hatching was a big deal. They needed to be fed immediately, some would need medical attention, and some would be absolutely fine, but all the keepers needed to be there to make sure it went as smooth as possible. They both dressed quickly and practically ran out of the cabin.

Hermione was shocked to see that it was still dark outside, and she eyed her watch, it had only been a couple hours since she and Charlie had fallen asleep. It was then she realized how tired she was, and she let out a large yawn. She walked beside Charlie until they got to the enclosure that held the nests, where she broke off and went to stand next to Will.

"Where have you been?" He hissed, grabbing her arm and pulling her closer to the door of the enclosure. They had spoken about this, Will had never had a dragon imprint on him, and he desperately wanted to be one of the first into the enclosure so that one would choose him.

"I'm sorry." She said, and she really was. She knew that he wouldn't go in without her. "I was with Charlie." She said, and she felt herself blush. Will glanced at her, and seeing her cheeks, he seemed to understand what that mean.

"Oh." He sounded surprised, and Hermione just shrugged. "Well… Who woke you lot up?" HE asked her, suddenly curious.

"James." She stated, letting out a sigh. "Who now has the pleasure of having seen me naked." She said, focusing her gaze on the moving eggs. Will let out a laugh and she elbowed him in the ribs.

"Sorry." He gasped through his laughter. "That's just too funny." He said, and Hermione glared at him.

"Don't let Charlie hear that." She warned, and Will immediately looked over his shoulder at the redhead standing a few feet away from him. He turned back to Hermione, his face now serious.

"I'm sorry." He said earnestly, and Hermione nodded, accepting.

"'Ere's the firs' one!" Hermione heard Eric boom out of the voices that were surrounding the enclosure, and it immediately went silent. Will and Hermione slowly moved up to the glass to get a better look, there was a small dragon just them kicking a part off the shell it was in.

"Look at him." Hermione sighed, the dragon was a nice green color, and looked extremely healthy, with a little smoke rising around it. Just like that, dragons began to hatch all around the enclosure, and the keepers began to make their way into the enclosure, searching for dragons that would need their assistance.

Hermione heard Will from a few meters away.

"Hermione, here. This is her." She heard him say, and she made her way to where he was standing. She looked down into the bush he was peering at, and saw an extremely small egg.

"Will.. I don't think she's going to make it." She said gently. The last thing they needed was for a dragon to imprint on Will only to have it die.

"She is. Just wait." Will said stubbornly, and she sighed before kneeling down next to him. She may think he was wrong, but she wasn't going to let him go through it alone. "Now." He said after a few minutes, and indeed the egg began to crack. Hermione sucked in a breath, thinking privately to herself that even if it managed to break the egg, it doesn't mean it will survive for very long. Will went to reach for the egg, but something told Hermione that wasn't a good idea, so she grabbed his arm.

"Wait." She said, when he shot her an angry look. He studied her for a moment before nodding and letting his hand fall. And she had been right. Soon enough, the egg became a ball of fire, and when it died out, there sat a brightly colored dragon.

"Woah." She heard Will breath out, and she had to agree that the dragon was breathtaking. She pulled out their record sheet, and started to write down facts.

"What kind of Dragon is she?" Hermione asked when she got to that square on the paper, and Will gave her a disbelieving look.

"Seriously?" He asked, and she shrugged, she didn't know what a lot of dragons looked like as babies. "Hermione, you have a tattoo of one." He said, staring at where her tattoo rested on her collarbone.

"Oh." She breathed out, turning to admire the dragon again. "I didn't meet mine when he was a baby.." She whispered, and Will chuckled as the dragon stumbled over to him. "Are they usually this small?" She asked, and Will suddenly looked nervous.

"Well.. no." He said, biting his lip. He looked up at Hermione, and she could tell he was scared.

"Go get her some food. It'll help her imprint on you." She encouraged him, and he nodded with enthusiasm before jogging over to the buckets of food. Hermione turned back to the dragon, who was trying to stand on her wobbly legs.

"Don't you dare go and die. He's been waiting too long for you." She whispered furiously to the small dragon. She tilted her head, and Hermione eyed her. She relaxed when Will came back, offering a handful of ground meat to the small dragon. She ate happily, then climbed onto Will's arm, who was frozen, gazing at the dragon. Hermione smiled, and looked around the enclosure. She caught Charlie's eyes, and he grinned at her. She smiled back. He really was beautiful, she thought, admiring how he was now holding a dragon with a bad wing in his arms.

"Yep… that's her." Hermione said, turning her attention back to Will, who grinned and nodded his head as the small dragon curled onto his shoulder.

It was a long day, with everyone having been up since the middle of the night. Hermione stumbled into the cantina for dinner, thoroughly exhausted and ready to settle in for the night. She grabbed some food and headed to a table, She knew that Will, James, and Charlie were all going to watch after the newborns for a while, so she was left to herself for dinner. She sat down at a table next to Jessie, who was speaking excited and rapidly.

"It was bloody mad, the dragon almost… well it kind of exploded, I guess is how I hear it. And suddenly you hear some shouts, I ran up and Eric and Hermione were sitting next to him. He was all burned, she was a little too, but she was easy enough to heal up. She had a hard time letting anyone get to him though, and she stayed right next to him while we took him to the infirmary. Took them days to get him all healed up and awake." She listened as he spoke, and felt her throat constrict when she realized what he was talking about. She looked up, and saw that I was a healer that he was speaking to. Obviously a new healer, as she looked extremely pale just from the story.

"And he still works here?" She asked, and Hermione decided to make it known that she was a the table.

"Of course he does. You don't quit just because of a little burn." She said, eyeing Jessie, who looked embarrassed.

"Sorry Hermione, didn't see you there." He muttered, and she let out a sigh.

"It's fine… you got the details right." She said, and he looked elated at that little bit of acknowledgement.

"Why did you save him when you could have gotten hurt?" The medi witch suddenly asked, and every tamer around the table looked at her in shock.

"You'll get injuries in pairs more often than not." Hermione stated after quickly recovering from the shock of hearing such a question. "Seeing as we work in pairs." She stated, and the medi witch just looked at her.

"Right, but you could have gotten out of their quicker if you didn't take him. Could have avoided injury all together." She said, sounding slightly confused.

"Listen. You'll learn something fast here. It's not all about you. It's about the dragons, it's about your partners, and it's about looking out for each other. I saved him because there was no way in hell I was just going to let him burn, and I would do the same for anyone on this reserve. Everyone here is family, and if you save someone, it's worth getting just as hurt. The other healers know that, and it's something you will see every day, so get used to it." Hermione stated, and all around her other tamers were nodding their agreement. The young healer swallowed a lump in her throat and nodded.

"It doesn't help that she would die for him, since he's her boyfriend." Jessie said nonchalantly, biting into his food. The healer went pale and looked at Hermione, who grinned at her.

"I'm so sorry I said anything." She said, and Hermione shrugged.

"You're new, It'll take some time for you to get used to everything." She said, and the girl nodded a little before going back to her meal. Hermione looked down at her food and smiled, they were really just one big family, she thought as she ate.

Her thoughts were interrupted however, by Will, who came running up to her, panting heavily. He gripped his side and looked panicked at Hermione.

"Will? Is everything okay?" She asked, and he shook his head. "Are you hurt?" She asked, sounding frantic, and he shook his head. Her eyes flashed when she spoke next. "Charlie?" She asked, and he nodded, his breath finally catching up to him.

She stood up and grabbed his shirt, standing with their faces almost touching. "Bloody hell Will, tell me what happened." She said through her teeth, and he nodded.

"Molly fire-called, and she saw his scars. Says she's coming in the morning." He said, and she suddenly understood his panic. Molly coming to take care of Charlie meant he would be distracted, that she was going to stay for a while since he had been hurt, that she would try to get him to leave. They walked together back to Charlie's cabin, and entered without knocking.

"Charlie?" Hermione asked, touching his shoulder. He was sitting at the kitchen table, his head in his hands.

"She's going to try to get me to leave." He said softly, and Hermione nodded.

"I know." She said, sitting with him. "Do you want to?" She asked, and he looked up at her before shaking his head.

"No." He said, and she kissed his cheek.

"Well then don't" She stated simply, and he smiled.

"You know it's never that easy with mum." He said, and she let out a sigh.

"I know."


	24. Coffee

A/N: I am so sorry. To all of you. For just leaving, no warning. That was wrong. I made a new friend, and my depression was less, so I wrote less. Also work has gotten crazy. I really am going to try to write more again, Like I was before. I really am sorry, and thank you for sticking with me.

* * *

 **Coffee**

"Well why not Charlie?" Molly asked for seemed like the hundredth time in the past couple days. Charlie just sighed, and sent a pleading look at Hermione, who was making them all some dinner.

"Mum, I can't just leave." He said, sounding tired.

"Yes, you can. Look at yourself Charlie, you've been hurt one too many times. You need to come home." Molly said, and Hermione took a deep breath, she had heard this conversation enough times these past couple days to know what Charlie would say next.

"This is the price you pay to do something you love. I can't imagine doing anything else mum. I don't want to go back." Charlie said, as the words ran through Hermione's mind. She finished cooking in silence, knowing that Molly would be staring daggers at the wall until it was done. She plated everything and gave Charlie a kiss on the cheek.

"I have to work tonight, I'll see you at breakfast?" She asked, and he gave her a small smile and a nod.

Outside, Hermione took a deep breath of the cool air and shook her head, she had no idea what would happen tomorrow, whether it would be more of the same conversations playing over and over, or if something might change. She walked to her cabin to wake Will, they had to go care for the baby dragons, which slept little. Will was waiting outside, and she waved.

"How was dinner?" He asked her, and she let out a heavy breath.

"Well I didn't stay to eat." She answered, and he gave a sympathetic cringe.

"Poor Charlie." He said softly.

"She means well, she doesn't want her son to die, but I do think that she should be more understanding." Hermione muttered as they walked past a group of people. They were both silent for a moment, before Hermione asked something that had been bothering her.

"Do you think he'll leave?" She blurted out, swiping her key card to enter the baby enclosure. Will stared at her in shock as they entered the enclosure.

"Are you really asking me if I think Charlie Weasley will leave here?" He said slowly, and Hermione nodded as she picked up a bucket of food. "Hermione, I think Charlie will still be here when he is fat and grey." Will said, and Hermione smiled and nodded.

They were off the next morning around two, and after finding something to drink before bed, Hermione finally fell asleep around three that morning. Not an hour later, evidenced by her bedside clock, there was rapid knocking on the cabin door. A moment later, Will knocked on her door. She groaned in response.

"Hermione? Molly's at the door." Will said. Hermione lifted her head and looked at Will, confused. He just shrugged and hitched his thumb over his shoulder. Hermione sighed and climbed out of bed, thankful that she hadn't felt up to changing her clothes when she had gone to bed. She left her room and walked to the front door, and there indeed was the redheaded mother of Charlie.

"Hermione. So sorry to bother you, but we need to talk." Molly said, and Hermione nodded while she yawned.

"I was just about to make some coffee, would you like to come in?" She asked, lying about the coffee, though she would need it now.

"That's sweet of you." Molly said, stepping into the cabin. Hermione led the way into the kitchen, and started the coffee. She waited for Molly to start speaking, but she didn't until Hermione handed her a hot cup. "I wanted to speak with you about my son." She said, and Hermione nodded, she though that's what this would have been about. "I want him to come back to England." She said, and Hermione once again nodded.

"I am aware of that." She said, trying to sound neutral.

"I want you to end things with him." Molly said abruptly, making Hermione cough on her steaming coffee.

"Excuse me?" She asked, wiping her mouth.

"Well, if you end things with Charlie, he will have even more reason to come home. Hermione shook her head, this sounded ridiculous.

"I'm sorry, let me get this right. You want me to break things off with Charlie so that he will want to leave his job and move back to England?" Hermione asked, hoping that she had misunderstood something along the way.

"That's right." Molly replied easily. Hermione shook her head in disbelief.

"That's not going to happen." Hermione said.

"Well you need to." Molly stated, looking smug.

"Molly, I'm not a fifteen year old girl anymore. I do not have to do what you say. And I'm sorry to tell you this, but Charlie is all grown up too."

"Hermione, you are important to him. And if you do this, he will come back home."

"Molly. No." Hermione said firmly, Molly opened her mouth to say something else, but Hermione held up a hand to stop her. "No. Your son is important to me too, and I love him too much to do that to him. To hurt him like that. I will stand behind whatever decision he makes, and I will follow him wherever he goes, but I will not hurt him just so you get what you want. Now, I worked all night and I would like to sleep." After a stunned silence on Molly's part, she nodded and exited the cabin without a goodbye. Hermione slouched as the door shut and let out a sigh. Her hands were shaking, making her cup chatter. She had just stood up to Molly Weasley.

"Woah." She hear Will say, and she looked up to see him standing in the living room. "That was bloody wicked." He said, and Hermione gave him a small smile.

"And I'm sure I'll hear about it in the morning. Goodnight Will." She stated, standing and walking back to bed, where she collapsed and fell asleep instantly.


	25. Defiance

A/N: I'm so sorry. No words can express how sorry I am. It has been crazy. Work, life has just been beating me hard. And this chapter is not enough, not even close. But I do hope you all like it. Please forgive me. Much love- Bookworm

* * *

 **Defiance**

"Hermione, what happened last night? Mum came back in the cabin in a right foul mood, and after I asked her about it, she said that she went and spoke with you." Charlie said to her at lunch the next day in the cantina.

"Well… I'm not sure you really want to know what happened.." Hermione said, and Will nodded his head a tiny bit in agreement.

"Please, tell me." Charlie said, placing his fork down on his plate.

"Fine." Hermione said with a sigh. "She asked me to.. Well she asked me to break it off with you…" Hermione said nervously.

"She did what?" Charlie asked her in disbelief.

"She thought, that you know, if I did, then you would go home." Hermione said, staring at her plate.

"I wouldn't. I wouldn't leave." Charlie said.

"No Charlie, I know that. But I wasn't going to do that. I wouldn't dream of leaving you." Hermione said, placing her hand on his gently. He looked at her and shook his head.

"I just can't believe she's that desperate… " Charlie said, and Hermione shrugged.

"Charlie, she's worried about you. She doesn't want you to get hurt anymore, she doesn't want you to not come home." Hermione explained, and Charlie nodded.

"I know, but she's going about this all wrong. I know what she wants, but she isn't listening." And with his last word, he stood abruptly.

"Where are you going? You have to be back with James soon." Hermione asked, worried.

"I'm going to tell my mother I'm not going anywhere." Charlie said as he left the cantina.

"Oh boy." Hermione whispered, looking at Will and James, who were staring at her. They sat in silence until it was time to go back to work. The three of them walked out together, and ran smack into Charlie outside the doors. "Charlie!" she exclaimed, reaching out and touching his arm.

"Hey. We should go back to the enclosure." Charlie said to James, and he nodded before they all walked back to their jobs.

"Do you think he's okay?" Will asked, and Hermione shrugged.

"Honestly I have no idea. I guess we'll find out later. Now though, let's just worry about the dragons, alright?" She said, and Will nodded in agreement.

That day, work seemed to crawl by. Hermione focused on her work more than anything, she didn't want the dragons to sense her anxiety.

"Hey Hermione?" Will said, and Hermione looked up at him. "You've washed her about six times. We're all done, lets go get some dinner." He said, gesturing to the dragon she had been tending to. She looked down and sighed, she had been thinking and it made her distracted.

"Damn. Okay, yeah lets go." Hermione said, wiping her hands on her pants. She put away her brushes and sponges, then followed Will out of the enclosure and to the cantina. They were the first to sit down at the table they always inhabited, but very soon James and Charlie sat down next to them as well.

"Mum went home." Charlie said after a long silence. Hermione stared at him for a moment, then turned her attention back to her plate. She stayed silent the whole time they ate, until she stood to leave the cantina and Charlie followed.

"I'm sorry Charlie." She blurted out. "I didn't mean to cause a fight." She said, looking at him trying to gauge his response.

"It's not your fault Hermione. She was pushing me too much. I just told her the truth. That I wasn't going to be leaving. And that you weren't either. I told her what she needed to know." Charlie explained. They stopped walking as they reached Charlie's cabin.

"Charlie… I really am sorry." She whispered, and he nodded.

"I know Hermione, I know. But I love you, and her being here, trying to get me to leave, it was causing problems. It was stressful, and it was effecting my work." Charlie said, reaching out and grasping her hands.

"I.. I love you too Charlie." Hermione said, leaning forward and kissing Charlie gently on the lips. "Are you and your mum okay?" She asked, and Charlie nodded slightly.

"Yeah, she'll get over it." Charlie said, and Hermione smiled weakly at him.

"Charlie?" Hermione suddenly had an idea, that might be able to help things.

"Yeah?" He asked back, pulling her into a hug.

"Maybe we should visit them for Christmas next month." Hermione said gently, and Charlie thought for a moment before answering.

"I think that's a good idea Hermione." Charlie said, kissing her forehead gently.


	26. Christmas

_A/N: So, once again I have waited far too long to post a new chapter. I have been in a rut, but in the past two days I have written more than I have In a while, on that note, I may be writing a new story, a HermionexSnape story, so if you are interested, keep an eye on my page. Anyway, I am bringing this story to a close. Probably next chapter. Thank you all for sticking with me through all of this, It as been a wild ride. Much love- Bookworm._

* * *

 **Christmas**

Time passed quickly in the flurry of work. The dragons kept them on their toes, and before they knew it, Christmastime was upon them. Hermione and Charlie had been so busy lately, they had no time to go get presents until the weekend before the holiday, when their holiday from work officially started.

Hermione was walking to Charlie's cabin, two cups of coffee in hand. They had agreed to go shopping this morning together before they went to the Burrow that evening. She reached his steps and took them carefully, not wanting to spill hot coffee on her hands. She reached the door and tapped it with her boot, and after a moment Charlie opened the door, grinning.

"Oh thanks love." He said, taking his cup and giving her a kiss on the cheek. "I just have to get my boots on, come in." He said, and she moved passed him into the sitting room. She smiled as she watched him take a sip of his coffee before setting it down and grabbing his boots. She wasn't sure why, but she loved watching him get ready. Any day. She had a silly smile on her face when he looked up at her from his seat.

"Alright love?" He asked her, and she nodded. "Okay, you all set? Brilliant. Let's go." He said, shrugging on a jacket and grabbing his coffee. She followed him out of the cabin and they walked leisurely to the small village that they would be doing their shopping in. They went to the first shop, and they each bought a few things. Hermione got a little something for everyone in his family. And each one had something to do with dragons. She was happy with her choices, the only people that she still needed to get things for were her boyfriend, Charlie, and his mum. The latter would be the more difficult, as they were still at odds with each other.

They were about to pass a jewelry shop when Hermione stopped them.

"Let's go in here, I still have to buy something for your mum." She said, and Charlie looked at her skeptically. She rolled her eyes and dragged him through the door. She heard him chuckle lightly and she felt heat go into her cheeks at the sound. They made their way slowly through the store, looking over every piece. Hermione was about ready to give up when something caught her eye. She grinned and pointed at it, and Charlie nodded.

"It's perfect." He said, and she walked over to the shopkeeper, who was all too willing to wrap it up for her. She and Charlie walked out of the shop together, and went down the road a little when she turned to him.

"Your turn. So you have to go occupy yourself for… oh give me twenty minutes?" She said, and he let out a theatrical sigh before giving her a soft kiss on the lips.

"If you must." He said. "Meet you here in half an hour?" He said, turning to walk away. She grinned at his retreating back before also turning and walking into another shop, she already knew what she wanted to give him.

As promised, half an hour later she met him in the square that they had separated. She grinned at him, who offered her a steaming cup of coffee. She took it gratefully before taking his hand and beginning the walk back to their cabins.

"So what did you get up to?" She asked, and he flashed her a grin.

"Not much love, just walked around, bored." He said, and she laughed.

"Whatever you say Charlie." She said. They walked the rest of the way to their cabins making small talk, and discussing how they thought their arrival at the Burrow would go over with Molly.

"She won't like that I'm there Charlie." She said, and he shook his head.

"Hermione, you know that's not true. She has nothing against you." He said to her, gripping her hand tightly.

"And you know that's not true. She thinks I'm what's keeping you here."

"I think I might have set her straight last time we spoke." Charlie said simply.

"Are you ever going to tell me what happened?" She asked him, and he shrugged.

"It's not important Hermione." He said, and she let out a sigh.

"Okay Charles." She said, and he pulled her to where she was standing in front of him.

"Since when do you call me Charles?" He asked, and the hurt was evident in his eyes and voice. She felt guilty, and wrapped him in a gentle hug.

"I'm sorry.." She whispered, and looked up at his face, his features had softened when she looked at him.

"Just.. don't call me Charles? Please?" He asked, and she nodded. "I much prefer 'Charlie' coming from those lips of yours." He said, and she could feel the mood shift as he moved his head down to meet their lips. They stayed, embraced and kissing until they heard a throat clear. Hermione broke the kiss and met the gaze of Will, who was standing nearby and grinning. She groaned and tucked her head into Charlie's chest as he shook with laughter.

"Alright Will?" He asked, and the other man laughed openly.

"Yeah. You lot all set?" He asked, looking at his watch. "You have to leave in what, ten minutes, right?" He asked, and Hermione gasped when she looked at her own.

"Charlie! We were gone all day, I didn't realize what time it was." She said. "I have to go grab my things, meet me at the portkey?" She asked, and he nodded. She reached her cabin and shoved all the presents into her bag before hitching it onto her shoulder and did a cursory glance of her room, making sure she had everything. She touched her thigh, where her wand holster was, and noted that she had said wand before flicking her light off and waving goodbye to will before leaving the cabin and heading to the portkey location. She arrived just in time, Charlie was watching her and waved her over.

"Time to go." He said, grabbing her hand and the portkey at the same time, she took a hold of the grubby hat as well and in just a few moments, she felt a strong tug at her navel before spinning up. She tried to breath, but it was always difficult when traveling by portkey. Finally, they were thrown onto the ground, she stumbled right into Charlie, who fell, and she landed on top of him.

"Sorry." She groaned, pushing herself off of him.

"No worries love." He grunted as he himself stood. They walked together in the snow to the Burrow, and Hermione took a deep breath before Charlie walked ahead of her into the house, she followed closely behind him, and was greeted with the large family of redheads. Hugs and hellos were exchanged, and Hermione was relieved to see that everyone seemed glad to see them, even Molly gave her a hug in hello.

Xxxxx

Christmas morning:

Hermione woke early and made her way down to the kitchen, working at the Dragon reserve had made it impossible for her to be able to sleep in, and it seemed that it had done the same to Charlie, who was sitting at the counter with a book and a cup of coffee.

"Hey" She said, grabbing a cup and pouring herself a cup. She sat next to him and studied the book for a moment before he responded.

"Morning love. Happy Christmas." He said, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. They sat in silence for a while before an idea popped into her mind.

"Let's make breakfast." She said, standing suddenly.

"Pardon?" Charlie asked, looking at her confused.

"Come on. It would be a nice thing to do. Especially for your mum. I know what she makes, let's let her have a lie in and make breakfast instead." She said brightly. Charlie stared at her for a moment before standing and moving quickly over to her. He pulled her face to his and kissed her hard, Hermione reciprocated, surprised but pleased at the sudden show of affection. When they pulled apart, Hermione was panting slightly, out of breath.

"Where did that come from?" She asked him.

"I love you Hermione Granger." He said plainly, staring into her eyes. She blushed deeply and smiled at him.

"I love you too Charlie." She said softly. They stood like that for a moment before she gave him another quick peck and turned to the stove. "Now let's make breakfast for your family."

It was quite a feat to accomplish, and Molly's Christmas breakfasts were always large. It was all they could do to not burn anything. They were just making coffee and tea, the last things to be made, when Molly entered the kitchen and stopped in her tracks. Charlie caught sight of her first and quickly made up a plate of food. Hermione also poured her a large cup of tea, knowing that it was her preferred drink.

"Go on mum. Sit. We made breakfast this morning." Charlie said, gesturing to the head of the table where the food was waiting. She did as he said, still stunned at what she had walked in on. Hermione and Charlie also sat down with plates of food and began to talk aimlessly. Soon enough, the rest of the Weasley family was down in the kitchen and feasting upon the food.

"Oh thank you mum, food is amazing, as always." Ginny said, grinning at Molly, Who then looked at Charlie, who was also grinning at her.

"Well thank you dear, but this morning Charlie and Hermione made breakfast." Molly said, and all eyes went to the pair, who had continued to eat. A chorus of thanks fell upon their ears, and they both waved it off.

"It's all Molly, she was the one who taught me to cook all this." Hermione said, grinning at he older woman, who was once again shocked silent.

Chatter resumed around the table until Molly stood up, and everyone fell silent.

"Time for presents." She said, and like they were all still children, there were whoops around the table as everyone stood and scrambled into the sitting room where the Christmas tree was stood.

Everyone fawned over their presents, thanking whoever had gifted it to them. As every year, everyone received a sweater. Hermione was glad to have it deposited into her lap by a smiling Molly. She opened it to find a lavender jumper with grey dragons on the sleeves. She gasped and pulled it on over her shirt.

"Oh thank you so much Molly." She said, getting up and hugging the woman. She then produced her gift for Molly. She handed it to the woman before resuming her place on the floor next to Charlie. Molly looked at her quizzically before gingerly taking off the wrappings. She opened the box, and gasped. It was a dragon bone bracelet that had emerald and obsidian inlayed all around it.

"Oh Hermione, it's beautiful. Thank you so much." She said softly, picking it up and sliding it onto her wrist, holding it up so that everyone could admire it. She grinned and then turned to Charlie. "Here's your present." She said, and handed it to him. He most certainly was child like when it came to presents, the wrapping paper went flying as he opened it to reveal a handmade leather journal. He kissed her full on the mouth and tucked it behind him, out of harms way.

"It's perfect love." He said, and she smiled, pleased that he liked it. She knew that he liked to write his thoughts down, and she had noticed that he was running out of pages in his current journal. "Thank you." He murmured into her ear, and she nodded at him.

"Well Charlie, with gifts like this I would say you better lock her down." Bill chimed in, and there were mutterings of agreement around the room. Hermione noticed that Charlie looked at him mum, who studied her for a moment before smiling at her son.

"Oh I intend to." Charlie said, and Hermione laughed lightly, not catching that he had grabbed something from his pocket as he said so. "Hermione." He said, his hands clasped together, holding something, and Hermione failed to notice that the room went so silent you might have heard a pin drop. "Hermione, I love you so much. You have been with me through a lot. At work, in life. These last months… It feels like a lifetime. And I can't imagine being with anyone else through it all. I want you next to me the entire time Hermione. In life. Will you please marry me love?" He asked, a crooked smile falling onto his face as he opened his hands to reveal a ring, a beautiful golden ring with a dragon scale as the stone. Hermione's hands flew to either side of her face.

"Are you sure?" She choked out, and he let out a booming laugh and nodded. She glanced at Molly, who was crying, but looked happy all the same. "Of course I will." She finally said, and everyone cheered as Charlie slipped the ring onto her finger and pulled her into a deep kiss.


	27. Chapter 27

A/N: This is it. This is the end of this story. I thought for a week about whether or not I should post this or continue, but I came to the conclusion that this is the best ending I could give. I didn't show the wedding, but I might do a one shot if I get enough response about it. Anyway, I hope that this is a good enough conclusion for all of you faithful readers, and those who read this at a later date. Much love- Bookworm

* * *

 **Epilogue**

It was a few years after their brothers and sisters that Hermione and Charlie decided to have their first child, but along with that came the second, twins. Hermione had taken some time off from work for a while to watch the children, and when the time had come, Will's wife of two years had happily offered to watch them whenever they were both at work.

But now, things were different. The twins, Fred and Geoff, were almost eleven. Hermione and Charlie had put off on having this conversation for a long while, but given a new sanctuary in England had just opened, it seemed an appropriate time.

"Hey Charlie." Hermione murmured, crawling into bed next to her husband.

"Yes love?" He asked, drawing his attention away from the book he was reading and onto her.

"We need to talk about next year." She said bluntly but carefully, and Charlie nodded in understanding. "I know you got offered a position at the England reserve." She said, and he nodded again.

"Do you want to go there?" He asked, and she paused for a moment before nodding.

"I know you love this reserve, and that you haven't really ever considered another one, but I think with you in charge… you would make it great Charlie. Not to mention the boys would be able to go to Hogwarts, and be with their cousins." She said, and Charlie pulled her into a tight embrace.

"You think this would be the best decision?" He asked. Hermione smiled softly, over the years, Charlie had become very attuned to the fact that Hermione was extremely good at making decisions, and trusted her input in everything, even mundane everyday ones.

"I really do." She said, looking up at his face. He smiled down at her before kissing her softly.

"Then I'll send word tomorrow." He said, before pulling her deeper into their kiss.

The move took about a month, filling paperwork, getting packed, and saying goodbye to both their coworkers and the dragons alike. The boys were heartbroken about leaving 'their dragons' but were excited to be closer to their family. Finally, the day came, and Hermione stood in the middle of their empty cabin, thinking about the last twenty years that she and Charlie had lived here together. They had become partners again after they had gotten married, and a few years after that, Hermione had become a trainer like Charlie had been for her.

"A lot of memories here." Charlie said, making Hermione jump slightly, she hadn't heard him come up behind her.

"Yes, there are." She sighed. "Hopefully we can make just as many in the new house." She said, taking his hand in hers. They had decided to make their own house on the reservation, and thankfully with magic, it had been finished in under a week and was all ready to be moved into.

"Well… maybe not. I don't think that we should make any more memories." He said, pointing at the twins who had just ran into the house yelling. Hermione laughed and gazed at her boys affectionately.

"Maybe not all of the same ones." She agreed. They called the boys over, and Charlie grabbed Fred up in his arms, while Hermione held Geoff's hand. The next moment, after an uncomfortable moment in apparition, they all found themselves in their new home. Hermione let go of Geoff's hand, Charlie let Fred down, and they ushered them up to their new rooms.

"Separate rooms?" Fred asked, his nose wrinkled.

"Only if you want." Charlie said, glancing at his wife, who nodded in agreement. Neither of them had any problem with the boys sharing a room. Given they were magical twins, it was known that they were extremely close, they basically shared a mind. Their parents could barely tell them apart sometimes, though at the moment it was easy, since Fred had accidentally gotten half of his hair burnt off when he had taunted a baby dragon.

"I think we'll take this one." Geoff said, taking charge and pulling his twin into a room that had a large bay window in it. They immediately made themselves at home, making their room a mess as they did so. Hermione and Charlie made their way up to their own room, and set their things away before going outside. Hermione watched as Charlie introduced himself to some of the people that had come early to the reserve to prep it. And she was thrilled to see that Will and James were among the people who now worked at their reserve. The boys had come to see them as uncles, and she knew that they had been upset to move away from them.

Getting the reserve up and running was a great success, and they had just gotten their last dragon for the summer when the boys went off to Hogwarts. They were standing at Platform 9 ¾, ushering the boys onto the train, and Hermione turned to Charlie.

"Why did we wait so long?" Hermione asked, and Charlie shrugged.

"You wanted to work." He said gently, and she nodded. "To bad it's the only time we get to do this…" He said, and she smiled.

"Well.. actually…" She said, and her hand went to her stomach.

"Really?" Charlie asked, excitement shining in his eyes.

"Yes, I wasn't sure if you would be happy about it." She said softly.

"As long as it's not another set of two, I'll be the happiest man on the planet." He said, scooping her up into his arms and kissing her. "I love you Hermione Weasley." He said gruffly, making her laugh.

"I love you too Charlie." She said. "Now let's go home." She said, smiling before pulling them both into a spin and back to their reservation.


End file.
